Interdimensional adventure
by Neizd Ra'zhavir
Summary: Do you want to read a story? Story about our favourite heroes and their adventures in another dimension? Then this is the place for you, to witness how they fight, how they cry, and how they sacrifice themselves for each other. Pairings: Shadow/Blaze and rated T... just in case...
1. Prologue

**Hi all, Neizd87 here! I finally decided to publish my first story here (finally snapped) :D In advance sorry for any mistakes, english is not my native language, but I tried my best AND got a LOT of help from TheWhyteRabbyt and Stormsong7 so this story is dedicated to them :)**

**Anyway on with the story, hope you like it, and if not, then feel free to post reviews in both cases!**

* * *

It was a very quiet night on Mobius prime… the hour was late and the sound of wind moving through blades of grass was the only thing that anyone could hear. Of course, on rare occasions, one could also hear an old owl or a small bug passing by but otherwise the night was dead silent.

In the night like this, there in this endless darkness one would assume that most sapient creatures would be asleep, and while it was mostly true for a lot of them, there was one single entity that didn't sleep… it didn't need to perform such meaningless activities.

The lone and prideful warrior, the dark hero of Mobius, stood motionless on a cliff while scanning the surroundings with his ruby eyes. Shadow the Hedgehog , the one called The Ultimate Life-Form, the agent of G.U.N, had better things to do than lie in a warm bed while reliving the nightmares from his past. He knew that he was supposed to leave it all behind him, but the echoes of the past are not so easy to forget. In this situation he decided he would do the only thing he could do and that was to occupy himself with work. He didn't need to sleep if he didn't want to and there was always a lot of missions ready for him. In this way, not only did he make his life easier by not returning to his dark memories from Ark, but also found a way to help the world that he promised to protect at all cost.

In short…that was his one and only reason to stand alone on a cliff in the middle of the night while overlooking one of Dr. Ivo Robotnik's bases. He had received intel that there was recently some unusual activity in this old fortress of the mad doctor…but as he kept looking more and more, he started to become bored. There was nothing. No trace of the doctor, not even one moving robot.

_Maybe the intel was wrong. If it's Eggman it wouldn't be this silent_, he thought to himself, looking at his communicator, which showed 1:00 AM. It was late, and since it was autumn, the sky was already dark.  
_I should probably go back to base and report everything to Commander since all of those sleepless night are getting to me. I may be the Ultimate life form, but it doesn't mean I don't have to sleep at all… once a week is a must._ While the thought ran through his head, he spun around and started walking forward while uttering well-known words…  
"Chaos… Control…"  
He vanished in a small flash of light. Unknown to him, there was another small flash… the reflection in the optic lens of a hidden camera…

* * *

"Mwahahaha… Shadow… you don't have even the smallest idea what's coming up." The old, fat man with round glasses on his eyes laughed maniacally. Dr. Eggman sat as always in his chair, looking at computer screens while adding the final touch to his newest plan. All was coming together well; G.U.N didn't suspect a thing, nor did the Freedom Fighters or anyone else. The Guardian Units of Nations thought they actually had some info about him and his operations… when in truth they were chasing ghosts in his empty bases. All he had to do was to install some hidden cameras that would help him track their movement while moving around undetected with his project.

"The filters are in place. Soon we can begin the final tests." Another voice, very much like his own, came from behind the mad scientist.

"I see. Good. The faster we work, the sooner we can rid ourselves of those annoying heroes that always foil our plans. Don't you agree, Dr. Eggman?" Dr. Ivo Robotnik replied in the direction of the mysterious voice that came out of the shadows.

"It's Dr. Eggman Nega my dear ally, and yes. Soon we shall get rid of all of those annoying pests and then our worlds will bow before our joined genius!" He started to laugh but was soon interrupted by his counterpart from Mobius Prime.

"Are the emeralds safe? It would be a shame if 'Princess' manages to track them down. We don't need…" Dr. Eggman started but his speech was shortly cut off by his other self.

"Everything is good. That damn cat won't be able to track Sol emeralds… and besides: it will take her some more time before she will find a way to this dimension." Dr. Eggman Nega calmly stated with his arrogant voice, one hundred percent sure about his own plan.

"Still…the sooner we finish the better," said Eggman while smiling from ear to ear, playing with his moustache. _-And then I can get rid of you and be the only ruler of two dimensions or more_, he added in his mind, knowing all the time that his counterpart was thinking exactly the same thing… but no matter. He will outsmart his other self. After all, he was great Dr. Ivo Robotnik, with IQ over 300.

* * *

The big vortex of swirling blue energy and occasional, crackling electrical discharges wasn't exactly the safest way to travel. The purple feline knew that very well from the start, but what other possibility did she have? Blaze the cat, princess and guardian of sol emeralds looked at the portal that would take her to Sonic's dimension. Her goal? To recover lost sol emeralds so her world wouldn't fall apart. The cat let out a heavy sigh; _I wonder how many more times I will have to cross the dimensions, before I will finally be able to have a moment of peace._ As she was thinking to herself, Gordon approached her from behind.

"Princess, some of our guards—along with myself—would like to assist you with recovering the jewels this time. We know it is your sole duty as their guardian, but we also know that we can't rely on you all the time," he spoke as Blaze turned slowly to him, giving him a small smile.

"Thank you Gordon, but as you said: it is my duty. I cannot put your lives in danger because of my carelessness. I was the one that let Eggman Nega take them away, so I should be the one to recover them."

In truth, Blaze would love to let others take care of this matter. She was tired and she knew it. Being a ruler had its duties…a lot of them… but being a guardian made it so that she practically didn't have any time for herself. All she ever knew was fighting or governing over others. Due to that, she never had any true friends before, didn't know anything about girly stuff and so on. _It's no use to be angry about it now. I may not even know how to cook but who cares? I need to do what I can do, and that is to get the sol emeralds back. _

With those words in her head, the brave princess set foot on the brown earth and started slowly walking toward the portal. She could fell its energy on her fur, her ponytail swirling before the mighty wind coming at her in full force, but she had no intention on stopping. There was only one goal in her mind and that was to get back what was hers, or her world—and every living being in it—would be destroyed. She could hear Gordon yelling after her, wishing her good luck. He always did this and it was what gave her strength to go forward. It wasn't for her… but for others… and that's why she always won and was able to move forward. Gordon's voice stopped after a while and all she could see was white accompanied with the feeling of falling. She hated that the most; it reminded her of the heights that she was so much afraid of. Her last thoughts echoed in her head, _I wonder If I can meet some of my allies… I still have to thank Shadow for helping me last time. _

After that she felt her head burst and images started to flow into her mind. She saw Eggman and his reflection in the mirror, grinning like mad making her angry… She saw a large tower in the distance and masses of poor people before it pleading for something, filling her with hopelessness… She saw an empty, old room that made her heart break… and she saw how everything around her shattered to pieces, but she wasn't able to grasp any emotions…only the feeling of grass under her, when she got out on the other side. She arrived on Mobius Prime, still breathing heavy. She looked at the blue sky and clouds slowly drifting. She touched the red jewel on her forehead and massaged it in with eyes wide open – _What was that…?_

* * *

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi again...wow so much praise from reviews... didn't expect that at all :O Anyway since I see, that people are interested, here is chapter 1! (Personally not my favourite but hope you will enjoy** **it)**

**Again many thanks for Stormsong7 and TheWhyteRabbyt for checking this story out before I could publish it with it's many mistakes XD**

**I don't own anything!**

* * *

Walking through the forest while listening to the birds and other wildlife wake from their slumber was a lone female with lilac fur, wearing a dark purple robe. Her ponytail swayed from side to side, as did her long tail, when she gracefully moved. Blaze the Cat slowly made her way towards New Mobotropolis…or at least searched for it. Sonic often told her that the Mobian part of this dimension's inhabitants lived in a city that was safe from Eggman, and since she didn't know exactly where to look for mad scientist, she figured some help would be needed. As she made her way while staying fully alert about potential enemies, she started to remember the last time she was in this place.

That time she was helped by Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit and they successfully managed to get back her world's sol emerald, so maybe they could help her again. She wasn't fond of this idea; it was her problem and she shouldn't be the one to put others in danger…especially the young rabbit, but there still was this vision that made her feel uneasy. _I shouldn't be thinking about this now; there may be enemies around and I wouldn't want to be ambushed again when visiting this dimension_.

Getting rid of excess thoughts, Blaze the Cat quickened her march, making her purple robe flutter behind her. It wasn't easy going through the forest with heels and it made her reconsider just burning it with her powers. The inhabitants of Mobius probably wouldn't be pleased about it but seeing Sonic's face after a small accident like that would be priceless.

* * *

It took her two hours of constant walking around and searching until she found what she sought for. The city—going by the name New Mobotropolis—now stood strong before her with invisible barriers, ready to repel any incoming attacks from Dr. Ivo Robotnik if necessary, was bursting with life of Mobians doing their everyday chores.

Standing still, Blaze didn't actually know how to approach this mighty structure. Would they just let her in? She wasn't from around these parts and they probably didn't trust strangers that could be Eggman's spies. Nonetheless, she made her way toward the gate, where two guardians were standing…well, one was sleeping calmly. Their function at the gates was unnecessary since small Nano-robots controlled by Nicole could take care of her all the time, but it must have been reassuring for the city dwellers to actually see someone at the entrance.

"Excuse me miss, but I don't remember your face. Could you please state your name and business?"

_Well, at least the guard is polite. I shouldn't probably say I am a princess, since in this world he wouldn't believe it, _thought the purple feline before answering to the honest man before her, while trying to look as harmless as possible.

"My name is Blaze the Cat. I am a friend of Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit. I wish to meet with them concerning some private matters."

The guard watched Blaze for a short while. True enough, she looked harmless but one could never be too careful. However, before he was able to inquire more about her, he received some information through his hidden communicator that he had in the ear. Having listened to the message, not making the young princess suspicious, he grunted and replied to her "Miss Nicole says you can go in. She will point you in the right direction towards your friend."

"Point me in the right direction," asked Blaze, but as soon as the question left her mouth, a small arrow showed before her on the ground. _Must be the Nano-robots that Sonic spoke of_, she thought to herself, and started following the sign. When she passed the guardian she thanked him for help with small nod of her head and made her way towards the pink hedgehog home, occasionally stealing small glances around the city. It reminded her of her own home and how peaceful it was. _I need to find the sol emerald for my people…they also deserve peaceful life like this._

* * *

The pink hedgehog's house wasn't anything big. It wasn't a castle or some rich villa, just a small, pink house with sturdy roof where she lived and performed her everyday chores… If Eggman wasn't attacking that is.

Right now it was peaceful, so she preoccupied herself with cooking and later she would do other work. She looked out the window, enjoying the sunny day, and told herself that when she finished eating, she would definitely go see Cream to spend some time with the young rabbit. As she was working and thinking about all she would do today, her mind began to slowly drift toward darker thoughts. Sure it was calm…but it was usually like that before a storm and the calmer it was the worst would it become later. She was optimistic, sure, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe that this peace would last… not until they defeated Eggman once and for all.

Even right now, something was going on in his abandoned facilities and she had felt uneasy since morning, when Nicole said that she intercepted some strange activity going on. Since the morning, Sonic, Tails, Sally and many others argued about their next course of action. Even Knuckles was there, since being on good terms with the Blue Blur, he decided to help out the people of New Mobotropolis.

Some of them wanted to go investigate it and be on with it—mainly Sonic—but Sally argued it could be a trap or a way to lure Sonic out, leaving the city without full defenses. Those two always did this anyway, and the pink heroine couldn't listen to it anymore, so she went out to her house where it was calmer. Just as she was ready to start the oven she heard a light knocking to her doors.

"I'm coming!" She shouted and quickly got rid of the white apron that she wore. Making her way to the doors she made sure to look in the mirror, since it could be Sonic that wanted to ask her out. When she opened it however, she met the last person she would have expected to visit her.

"Blaze!" She shouted surprised and out of habit gave the purple feline a big hug, making them both smile in their hearts…just as expected of two friends.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," said Amy, looking at Blaze, still holding her cup of tea. "You said that the sol emeralds that you collected were stolen and when crossing the dimensions, you had a strange vision about very disturbing stuff?" She finished her question and put down the cup. She just knew something would happen sooner or later, but didn't expect to have Blaze involved in it.

"Pretty much this: I don't want to trouble you, since it is the concern of my world, but I think that if those emeralds fall into Eggman's or anyone else's hands there could be a disaster for both of our dimensions. That's why I want you to help me at least track down any possible place, where I can begin the search…then I will be on my way," replied the feline, not bothering to hide the fact that she is in a hurry, like she always was.

"I thought you could feel them and track their position without problems. What happened?" The pink hedgehog inquired while removing empty tea utensils, getting the feeling that if she didn't hurry, her friend would just rush out of the house in a mad search for the lost jewels of power.

"I am not sure. I also find it strange that since coming to Mobius I am unable to do it, but maybe they are somewhat protected so I don't feel their energy…. It's possible since I believe Eggman Nega from my world is involved." Blaze stood from the couch and gestured by it that she would like to begin the search right away, which the pink hedgehog understood pretty well.

"Then we should see Sonic and the others. They're actually arguing about some strange signal that Nicole intercepted this morning and whether or not they should investigate or wait a bit in case anything happens. It's a long shot but I think it may be somewhat related to your visit here…and speaking of visits, you should really come more often. Cream would like that," said Amy, going to get her trusty pink hammer.

"You know, Amy, that I would like to, but it's not possible for me to be in this dimension for too long. Shall we depart?" Asked Blaze, looking at the other female and thinking to herself_, Where the hell does she put that big hammer of hers?_

"Well, I'm ready, so let's go!" Amy shouted optimistically, full of energy as they departed for the castle, where the rest of this story awaits…

* * *

"For the last time Sonic, I told you: it could be a trap!" Sally growled at the Blue Speedster, trying to get through to him and his thick skull that he should at least try to think before rushing headlong into any problem that shows up. The princess was tired. Everyone in the council building was tired and the argument hadn't gone anywhere since the morning. Even poor Knuckles was sleeping now …or maybe he was meditating; the princess had no way of knowing.

"What if it's some kind of Eggman-weapon?" The hero of Mobius argued back, determined not to lose this argument. He could always do things his way and just rush to all abandoned Eggman bases and check them out, but he didn't want to make Sally any angrier with him…this time, he decided, he would win it with his verbal skills.

"Actually, both of you are right about this. Personally, though, Aunt Sally, I don't think it should be left unchecked," said the yellow kitsune, while watching the Master Emerald's guardian sitting and sleeping and getting more drowsy with each passing second. His last projects hadn't let him sleep much. Nicole was there too, but not really; maybe she had some urgent matters to take care of in the city, since he knew she didn't need to sleep.

"See, Sal? Even Tails agrees that it should be checked, so I say why not right now?"

Sonic's reply annoyed the brown chipmunk princess, since they had been over this before.

"Didn't he say 'both of you are right'?" countered Sally. She was not going to let the blue blur do anything on his own again. She didn't want to lose him just because they hadn't been able to form a plan first.

"Look Sally, we can stay here and argue all day but the problem is still present…we must do something!" said Sonic, getting angrier by the minute. He hated waiting, so he upped the volume of his voice, which snapped the red echidna from his slumber.

"Wha…?" articulated Knuckles, looking drowsily from blue hedgehog to brown princess. So he WAS sleeping –thought Sally to herself.

"Maybe I will help you put an end to this argument of yours." A new voice rang in the council hall, and all of the present heads turned to see Blaze and Amy making their way towards them.

"Be welcomed, Princess Sally. It's a pleasure to finally be able to meet you. Sonic spoke fondly of your leadership," continued the purple feline, trying to speak polite and courtly.

"BLAZE!" yelled Sonic and Tails happy to see their old friend and coming closer.

"Didn't expect to see you there. How did you find this place?" asked Sonic, who was happy to be relieved from arguing with Sally.

"Actually I was the one who helped her go to this place" answered Nicole, not absolutely sure if what she did was a good idea. After all, the only data on Blaze that she had was from what Sonic told her.

"It's a pleasure, Princess Blaze. The same can be said about you, but I am not a ruler of New Mobotropolis; the council leads here, and my title is merely a formality. Still, I'm rather curious. To what do we owe the pleasure of meeting you here?"

Sonic gave Sally a puzzled stare, since she rarely spoke so politely.

"Aw, don't be so formal, you two. Let me guess, the Sol Emeralds went missing, right?" Sonic's interruption broke the tension and all formality dropped in one moment.

"Right on the mark, Sonic!" continued Amy, not missing a beat. Talking formally would be impossible with Sonic around. "But let Blaze tell you her part of the story."

* * *

"You see, Sal? I told you we need to check it out. With Blaze's Sol Emeralds here, we need to find what's going on and fast, before her world goes boom." Sonic said excitedly, glad that he won the argument with Sally. For Blaze, there was something disturbing about the way he said it, but she let it slide. The faster we get it done the better, she reminded herself trying to calm down.

"Fine, Sonic. Have it your way, but be careful and don't rush it like you always do. Nicole." Sally looked at her best friend "Can you find where this strange signal originated from? It would be best to check this place first."

The lynx didn't reply, but after a while she looked at the fire princess and stated, "I'm sorry, Princess Blaze, but I can't pinpoint the exact location. Something is blocking me and I can't get around it." The artificial lynx's reply made Blaze sigh silently. Back to square one, and the clock was ticking.

"That's it? No way to find it? Hmmmm…. Oh well. I guess we just need to do it the old fashion way, but it will take more time," said Sonic, looking at Blaze with strong eyes, trying to reassure her. It didn't work as planned, however.

"We don't have time, Sonic. I can feel the disturbance in my world. We need to find the emeralds fast, and every second counts. If you can't help me, then I'm better off on my own," Blaze told him coldly as she folded her arms under her chest. "We will find them Blaze, you…", "I know you will do your best Sonic, no need to reassure me about it. Let's just start working on it okay? This situation is stressful enough."

"Actually, there may be a way to pinpoint the location," Nicole interrupted their small argument, getting everyone's attention. "It is possible that G.U.N has information that could…"

"No way, " Sonic grimaced, interrupting Nicole. "G.U.N. doesn't cooperate and I doubt anyone from Team Dark will be willing to help us out." Sonic did not want to have to meet his dark counterpart if at all possible.

"That may not be true, Sonic," said Amy with a smile. "Last time, when one of the sol emeralds went missing, Shadow helped us get it back. I'm sure he will do it again."

"You want me to go and _ask _Shadow to help _me_? I won't hear the end of it!" Sonic growled with a look of distaste on his face. He hadn't heard anything about Blaze meeting Shadow and he _always_ knew stuff like this. He didn't consider Shadow to be his enemy, but they still were rivals… almost everything told him _not_ to go… Besides… since when did Shadow start to be nice and helpful?

"Very well; Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Amy, you four will accompany Blaze to G.U.N. and try to help her out with the search." Sally tried not to smile. She knew how Sonic didn't like Shadow, but at least that way he wouldn't confront Eggman alone. Sonic gave her a mortified stare but couldn't say a word… He knew that she did it on purpose, but at least he didn't have to argue with her anymore…still…

"Ok. Let's do it to it! Tails, ready the plane!" Sonic sped out of the hall at full speed; he needed some fresh air and to feel the wind before he said anything stupid.

"Finally, some action and less arguing!" Knuckles grinned, saying what everyone else was thinking. Arguments weren't his thing, not if they weren't concerning the Echidna race or Angel Island. He had listened for most of the time and now he would act.

With those last words they all departed, leaving the young princess and Nicole alone in the council building. Sally Acorn sighed heavily. She wasn't any calmer than she had been while arguing with Sonic, but sooner or later Sonic had to take action. What worried her were the strange visions that Blaze had seen. She didn't know how trustworthy the other Princess was, but if Sonic trusted her, then so would she. Hopefully there wouldn't be any accidents.

"Don't worry Sally; they have Sonic with them, so nothing will go wrong." Nicole reassured her.

"Sonic is exactly what I am worried about…" muttered Sally, forcing a smile.

* * *

Heavy jet boots clanked on the hard mountain rocks, shattering them into smaller pebbles. A white, gloved hand that up until now had been calmly resting by his left side shot up, catching a small dent in the stone wall. He could feel his muscles harden as he climbed. Gazing upwards, Shadow the Hedgehog spied his goal up ahead: a great fortress of metal. It rose above him with its walls bleached from countless attacks and explosions from the past, shining now in the rays of morning sun. This was the last fortress that he had to investigate before returning to headquarters today. At first there wasn't anything special about it, but as he peered closer, he saw hidden robots…many of them. There were patrolling the perimeter, searching for any organic being that would dare come too close and, if needed, they would eradicate it.

Shadow knew, he couldn't just go through front door; there were too many enemies and he still needed to find what was going on in this supposedly-abandoned base. He had decided to do it the hard way and that's why he was climbing the mountain on the other side. The sweat dripped from his jet black fur due to excessive strain. No normal life-form would be able to climb from this side of the mountain…but he was far from being _normal_. He was the ultimate life-form, and things like these were expected of him. It was his duty to find that the mad scientist and stop him if the need presented itself.

Making his way slowly through gaps, sometimes causing the rocks fall to the bottom, he thought about what the doctor could be hiding in here that needed so much protection. He could feel some disturbance in the air… even the chaos energy flowing through his veins seemed uneasy. Something was going on and he would find it no matter the cost…

* * *

_Why did it have to be a plane? Why did it have to be a plane flying so high…very… high?_ Blaze closed her eyes, her heart racing as the Tornado made its way towards Station Square. Sonic told her that this way it would be faster and that their time was essential… and she just _had_ to agree with him but still…. It was a _very_long way to the ground.

"How much longer till we get there, Tails?" Sonic eyed Blaze out of the corner of his eye. As much as he enjoyed teasing Blaze about her fear of heights, he didn't like seeing one of his friends in pain.

"Not much farther, Sonic. We should see the island soon," replied the young fox, all the while keeping his eyes looking forward.

"And how far is 'not much', Tails?" Knuckles prodded, also eyeing the fire princess. He was curious about her powers; he had heard that she was strong, but all he saw was a weak girl afraid of heights. He guessed looks could be deceiving, but he was wary of her.

"'Not much' means, now. We're here." Everyone gazed down at the island that had entered their vision. They _were_ here. Now they just needed to talk to the president and meet with the G.U.N. Commander…

* * *

Using the last strength he had in his tired hands, the black hero pulled himself up, finally reaching his destination. He panted heavily, making his breath show before him in a small, steamy cloud. It was cold up here even with sun up high and shining brightly on him. He turned around to catch a glimpse of landscape below him. It was truly an exciting sight, looking from up here toward the blue horizon, with countless trees below him, and birds flying below his line of sight. This planet was truly beautiful, just as Maria said, and he would make sure to protect it.

Whirling around and standing strong before the mighty fortress, he moved closer to a large hole in the wall... a hole that appeared suspiciously as though Sonic had spin-dashed through it. He would enter the fortress through there and finally find out what was going on. As he made his way through, he didn't bother to look for hidden cameras. After all, who would bother monitoring the back of the fortress that was unreachable for any living creature? That was his first mistake.

Wandering through metal corridors and listening to any signs of alarms or presences, he made his way deeper into the complex. He scanned the surroundings but all he saw were destroyed walls smeared with old, black oil, destroyed robots and other structural elements which he couldn't bother to identify. Just as he was passing the next door, he heard a small sound…something was there…behind him. He spun around with abnormal speed and faced the perceived adversary. There stood some of Eggman's robots with more appearing with each passing second.

_Damn, _he cursed, preparing to fight, while his ruby colored eyes searched for a way out if he needed to run…the fun was beginning…

* * *

"I see…" Commander Tower sat behind his desk. The president had told him to meet with those Mobians that he knew from the past. Well… _some_ of them. At first he was hesitant, but the name of "Sonic the Hedgehog" was always associated with something important, and he wasn't some rookie to ignore that information when it was presented. After hearing their story, the commander furrowed his eyebrows, coming to two conclusions. One was, that they were right on the mark having Shadow and other G.U.N. agents scout all of those abandoned bases. Two was that team dark _did_ manage to get the sol emerald before, but for some reason hadn't delivered it. Being a military man, Commander Tower knew where his priorities were, so he did the one thing he could.

"I understand. Thank you for your cooperation regarding this matter. I have just sent for the person that can help you." Just as he finished saying those words, the doors to his office opened and through them strolled their old ally…

* * *

**Sorry, not much Shadaze in this one but... **

**Stay tuned for moar...!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Helllooo again! Sorry for lack of update in recent days, here goes chapter 2! Have a good read! :)**

**Ps. This might be edited a little in the future for any mistakes :)**

**Again thanks go to TheWhyteRabbyt and Stormsong7 for reading and correcting mistakes :D**

**I don't own anything (only idea for this story)**

* * *

"What are you lot doing here," asked dumbfounded Rouge the Bat, staring at all the people gathered in Commander's office. The group before her consisted of an annoying blue hedgehog, handsome echidna, a fox too smart for his own good, a loud and unfashionable pink hedgehog and a familiar cat that stole her jewel last time…. Still…it wouldn't hurt to be polite, especially if the commander was around. Rouge quickly composed herself and saluted.

"Agent Rouge, ready for duty, sir!"

"At ease, agent." The commander saluted back. "We have a possible update on Dr. Eggman's recent activities. I sent data that the Freedom Fighters gave us and it is being analyzed. We believe something called '_Sol emeralds'_ is involved. Do you know anything about them, agent?" When he asked he looked at Rouge calmly. Rouge knew she wouldn't get out of this one by lying, so she answered in the only possible way—all the time cursing Shadow and his good will towards fiery feline.

"Yes, sir; we found one on the mission but couldn't bring it back, due to certain circumstances." _That isn't a lie is it? It's just not the full truth,_ she thought to herself.

"I'm not judging you, agent. If the lack of those jewels could destroy a world, as I was told, then yours and Agent Shadow's judgment was correct in not bringing even one of them back here. Still, we have a situation: those gems are in our dimension again and they should be somewhere else. Your next mission is to help Princess Blaze to get them out. Can you contact Agent Shadow? I believe his input would be helpful regarding this matter." After hearing those words, Rouge's face became littered with various emotions, spanning from relief that there wouldn't be any consequences for not fully completing the older mission, to annoyance that she would have to cooperate again with the fire princess… and this time on the Commander's orders she was being forced to give her the emerald back. Somehow she was annoyed when Blaze was around, but she didn't give it much thought; she had a mission to perform.

"Yes sir! Agent Shadow contacted me a while ago; right now he is examining one of the last abandoned bases and will arrive at HQ shortly."

"Good. Now please escort our guests toward the waiting area." The Commander saluted once more to Sonic and his friends, all of whom had stayed silent up until now, since none of them could really do anything to change the situation or add anything important to the conversation. They silently followed the ivory bat, leaving the G.U.N. commander to his own thoughts.

* * *

"So, what now?" Sonic asked when they were finally sitting calmly in the waiting room. Rouge looked at him with a clear hint of annoyance, because it was due to their arrival the Commander now knew that she had lied to him… and that was never a good thing, even if there were no direct consequences.

"Now we wait for Shadow, didn't you hear what commander said?" Amy offered, looking at the Blue Hero, all the while keeping him in check so he wouldn't rush off anywhere.

"We shouldn't all be sitting here and doing nothing," Knuckles stated calmly, scanning the room. He didn't like this place…somehow he felt that at any moment they could be overwhelmed by G.U.N., and he was pretty sure he didn't trust them. Blaze agreed with his reasoning.

"We can split up and start to search. When Shadow comes, we can meet up again," suggested the smart fox, also peering at their surroundings. Unlike Knuckles, he was wondering what outstanding tech could be hidden within G.U.N. headquarters.

"Then I should be the one to go. I hate wasting time like this and it is my sole responsibility to find the Sol emeralds," proposed the purple feline, while nervously moving her tail from side to side. She knew she should be calmer about the situation, but here again they were losing time and who knew what disasters were happening in her world during her absence… Who knew how many of her people got hurt this time….

"Sorry, Blaze but I think you should stay here and relate everything to Shadow personally," replied Amy while stealing glances at Sonic. "Sonic isn't too calm around Shadow, Tails wouldn't be able to explain your vision and Knuckles probably wouldn't remember all that he has to say…"

"Hey! I heard that!"

"…and you would be needed in case G.U.N. finds a way for you to track the emeralds using your link to them. Don't worry; I will stay here with you." The pink hedgehog reassured Blaze while hoping that the fire princess would listen to the voice of reason. She knew how devoted she could be when it came to her world.

"If you say so…" Blaze sighed, not the least bit pleased…her patience was ending with each passing second…and her tail continued to swing nervously with more frequency.

* * *

Shadow was panting heavily. The robots had ambushed him just as he was investigating the last base for today, when their numbers started to increase with each passing minute. For every one that he destroyed, two more appeared and soon he found himself outnumbered. At first fighting was easy: he just tore them apart using every combat skill he knew, but now their numbers had become an obstacle that even he couldn't cross.

"Damn…chaos spear!" He shouted as chaos energy shot from his hand and vaporized a group of robots before him, tearing apart their armor and scattering destroyed parts from the inside. The black oil smeared on walls, floor and ceiling, making the slaughter appear even more ominous. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever and he needed to run…he could always return later with back up and he was one hundred percent sure Omega would love to use some of his guns against this many opponents.

Making a quick plan about his escape, he readied his stance and did what he was the best in…and that was to run as quickly as possible. He spin-dashed the enemies that were in his way, feeling oil and metal on his quills, and when he was out of the circle of enemies he ran away from the base using the main entrance. Of course, the robots didn't give up just because some of them were destroyed. They were shooting at him, but he was too fast for them and all of their attacks missed.

Going through the stone mountains he managed to quickly lose pursuit for a moment… only to be discovered by a patrol group some time later. It continued that way for a long time, a game of cat and mouse.

_I need to find a way to escape from them permanently…_ Just as he was thinking that, a laser shot near him, burning a small patch of fur on his arm. He grunted in annoyance and looked at the one who dared to attack him like that…and he saw a robot—a very big one at that—looking at him motionlessly and aiming a large rifle with the laser crosshairs on his chest.

_Oh sh…_

* * *

Meanwhile, Blaze was standing up, looking through one of many windows in the Guardians Unit of Nations headquarters… and she was annoyed, unconsciously heating up the air around herself. Amy and Rouge went for their separate matters and she was left alone waiting—and waiting more—making her tail twitch from side to side. She nervously played with the furry cuff of her right glove, when she heard a very smooth voice behind her.

"Relax, Your Highness; there is no rush," said the white bat, who had slipped into the room without Blaze detecting her. She knew that would annoy the fire princess, but she didn't care: she lost a treasure last time because of her—now the full trust of Commander Tower—she wanted to at least get some sort of revenge, even if using only words.

"Don't you have anything better to do than hang around here?" Blaze replied, not turning around to face the annoying bat while trying to sound as calm as possible (failing at it miserably). She knew that the Bat didn't like her, but she could care less when other, more important matters were at hand. She just needed to perform her duty as the Sol emeralds' guardian and save her world from destruction, nothing more.

"Oh my…did I anger you?" Rouge questioned, innocently looking at her hands and smiling to herself.

"No." Blaze muttered tersely, but in truth, if she could, she would pummel the ivory beauty… or at least throw her out of the window.

"I know I did. You are similar to Shadow in you demeanor. He tries to look calm too, but spending so much time with him, I know that he would love to destroy what annoys him," Rouge smiled once more, making her even more beautiful in the rays of shining sun that came through the window.

"What is your problem, Rouge?" Blaze snapped, trying to change the course of conversation from herself to the G.U.N. Agent, hoping to gather her composure in the calm. She knew if this continued either she or Rouge would snap.

"My problem? I don't have any. It's not like I have a reason to be angry with you do I?" Rouge countered with a smug smile. She was enjoying every second of this and it showed in her every movement. She was provoking Blaze and what she had just said was one last push.

"I think we have talked enough, don't you?" The princess turned around to face the agent. There was a fire of anger in her golden eyes. Clenching her hands, she decided that she didn't need anyone's help. She would find the Sol emeralds alone—but first she would enjoy pummeling the ground with Rouge…

* * *

Shadow jumped out of the way just as the robot's laser tore at the place he was a moment ago. When the robot first fired at him, he managed to run some way only to be cornered on a high cliff. Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he moved quickly—running forward—and when he was close enough, jumped high into air making a somersault above his enemy. The robot, being large and heavy, started to move to face him, but when he did so, Shadow was already waiting for him with chaos spear in hand. He could feel the energy building and just as the robot was ready to shoot, he fired before him into the barrel of the laser rifle. The explosion tore off the robot arm and various beeps could be heard. Shadow, being near the explosion, was thrown back and nearly fell off a cliff, just by luck catching the side of it. The enemy was analyzing the situation, and Shadow, gazing at him silently hoped that he would come to a conclusion that attacking without weapon is pointless. He had no such luck.

The robot, finishing its mathematical calculations, decided to use the one tactic that was now possible due to loss of his rifle…and that was to self-destruct itself since the enemy had nowhere to run. As the dangerous beeping sound came from the machine, the black hedgehog acted on impulse and opened the palm of his hand, dropping down.

While falling, he concentrated all of his energy and just as he was poised to fall to the hard ground, warped above some trees. He could feel the hard branches on his body while he tore through the trees before crashing to the earth.

Lying on the ground and inhaling deeply, he opened his eyes, looking at the rays of sun falling through the branches. He was safe for now, but his fall had hurt like hell. Some seconds later, while resting, he could hear the explosion in the distance, the end his recent adversary.

_Stupid robots; I'll be back for you._ With those thoughts, he began to slowly stand up. His body ached all over, but he was alive and would probably be ready for his next mission… after he rested a bit. He was really grateful for his quick recovery rate. As the black hedgehog was about to start walking, with the corner of his crimson-colored eye, he saw his communicator, flashing a new message.

-New orders. Go back to HQ.-

_There goes my rest,_ he thought as he accepted the message and began to speed toward the headquarters. He cursed himself that he hadn't brought his motorcycle this time.

* * *

Two woman stared at each other in complete silence, determining which one will either fall back or attack first. One of them was Blaze the Cat, while the other was Rouge the Bat. Those two didn't exactly see eye to eye, and now, they were ready to jump at each other throats.

_What the hell is her problem anyway? Is she mad about me getting MY sol emerald back to save my world, or is it something else?_ – Thought Blaze, ready to explode with the fury of raging fire, unable to fully comprehend the motive for Rouges behavior. The Ivory bat, on the other hand calmly looked at her opponent smiling, but in truth she was ready to receive an incoming attack. It was all a play to make Blaze attack her, so G.U.N. won't have to help her out if she acted like this…and her plan was coming smoothly like always._ Here kitty, kitty, make your move, I dare you._

Just as the graceful cat was about to make her move, the doors to the room opened and trough them came panting Amy Rose, and all of the tension seems to lift in a moment. _And I was so close_… Thought Rouge, eyeing the annoying pink girl.

"Girls_…pant…_ Shadow is back_…pant…_the Commander asked me to get_…pant…_you." Said the female hedgehog while catching her breath. After she have done so, she eyed suspiciously the two other girls "I didn't interrupt anything did I?" she asked, while knowing well enough that something was about to happen between those two.

"No, not at all. Let's go, we shouldn't make Commander wait." Said Rouge with cheerful smile while deep down cursing her luck. With this she came through the door, leaving other two, so that they won't see her displeased face.

"Did something happen?" Asked Amy, but Blaze only shook her head with closed eyes "Nothing worth, mentioning. Let's just go, like Rouge said." "Okay…" replied miss Rose, and the two of them chased after the white bat.

* * *

"…and that is what happened. The base is swarming with robots and so many, that I was unable to fully check it out." Shadow finished his report, just as Rouge entered the room, followed by Amy and Blaze. He lifted an eyebrow in question, since he didn't expect to meet the last two girls in the HQ, especially the fire princess that should be in her own dimension. He secretly hoped that this time they wouldn't need to fight.

"I presume, the appearance of our guest has something to do with my next mission Commander?" Asked black hedgehog with crimson stripes, while silently greeting the girls with a small nod of his head, while looking at them with his red eyes.

"Yes agent. It appears, that miss Blaze lost something precious to her and the absence of those items greatly endangers her world. We also believe that those items are in hands of none other than Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The Freedom Fighters arrived in the morning with a data intercepted by their AI and now Hope is decoding it as we speak." Said Commander tower in one sentence giving Shadow full update, just as any military man would.

"I see…so what are our orders commander now that agent Shadow is here?" Asked Rouge, before Blaze could utter any word. She knew it would annoy her that she has no say in their course of action. The fire princess gave her a menacing look but didn't say anything to it…she will do it later.

"We actually don't have full data, and since the signal is still being decoded our next course of action isn't exactly pointing us in one right direction."Replied Commander Tower, while looking at the Mobians, that were smaller than him…he secretly hated to look down at them like this, because their size wasn't exactly convincing and reminded him of kids…but he knew that they were strong and could be fearsome opponents.

"So we actually don't know anything that could help us search?" Asked Blaze, not bothering to hide her irritated tone. She didn't want to show how mad she was, but the hours just passed by and there was still no progress…and she was still mad at Rouge earlier behavior. She saw that Shadow was eyeing her and then he began to speak but was quickly interrupted by Commander. _I wonder what did he wanted to say _Blaze asked herself.

"I'm sorry it takes this long miss, but we have it under control. With information given to us by agent Shadow, we have located one place, that can help us find some clues about your sol emeralds' location, and if this doesn't help, I'm sure, that miss Hope will decode the signal giving us one more clue needed to find them." Said Commander Tower, while looking Blaze square in the eyes. She was certain he didn't lie and did the best he could and somehow it reassured her. After this silent exchange the commander continued. "Our next course of action is clear. Agent Shadow and agent Rouge will go to the base we know of. I suggest one of you accompany them and the other contacts your friends and get them here."

* * *

"Let me get this straight. You fell from the cliff and you still live?" Asked Blaze, unable to comprehend what Shadow just told her and Rouge. Compared to the bat, she didn't know much about Shadow, and was amazed how resistant he was. Seeing her, Rouge couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Oh…don't be so amazed, Shadow fell from much higher places, didn't you Shad?" she said, while looking at the back of hedgehog, that was strongly pushing forward through the forest, only seeing the goal before him.

"Cut the chatter. We are nearing the enemy territory. Watch out for any movement." He said, coming to a stop before the stone wall. Normally he would just tore through main entrance, since he knew how strong in fight Blaze could be, but decided for more stealthy approach. He didn't need to risk anyone's life.

"Rouge. Can you give Blaze a lift up there?" he asked, showing her the metal fortress in the distance at the top of the mountain, making Blaze stomach shrink…it was very high.

"What about you?" She asked in reply, to which he only smirked and warped up to the top, since he already knew the area up there.

"Figures." Rolled her eyes the Bat and looked at the fire princess. "Let's just hope I won't drop you down okay?" She winked, liking the idea of this possibility, but knowing well enough that Shadow wouldn't be pleased with actions like those.

"Hmph" Said Blaze, letting the older female carry her to the mountain top, while trying not to show that she was afraid. Hopefully there won't be any accidents. Her attempts at hiding her fear failed, since all the way up, she had closed eyes, which wasn't missed by Rouge who time and time again said stuff like: "Oh…the earth looks so small from up here." or "I wonder how long one would fall…this is pretty high." "You should enjoy the view your highness." making the fire princess curse at the annoying bat time and time again…of course not aloud, since she wasn't this vulgar.

* * *

At the top of the mountain, when all of our heroes gathered and where the smell of recent fighting still lingered. Rouge the Bat was looking through the hole, searching for any kind of hidden camera while putting the most disgusted kind of face that she was capable of because it smelt in here of burnt metal and oil.

"Aha…found it!" She exclaimed loudly, disabling the device at the same time. "Really Shadow…to not be able find something like this…are you aging or something?" asked the white furred female with a hint of a smile. The hedgehog only grunted in response and said "I do not age." which only made Blaze to look puzzled at him._What does he mean by that? _she thought but before she was able to inquire about it Shadow issued the next order. "We should go forward… and carefully." He said and began walking into the base.

The building didn't change much, from last time Shadow was in here, the only noticeable difference was big pile of junk, the remains from destroyed robots, and the signs of fighting.

"What are we searching for exactly?" Asked the purple feline, not losing her focus…after all there could be enemies waiting in shadows, ready to attack them, and as any warrior she was cautious.

"A working computer… if we find one of these I can probably hack Eggman's network and see what I can find about this base and why there are active enemies lingering around." Replied the bat, boasting and by this, signaling to Blaze that she is not needed for anything. The fire princess knew that she was being mean to her on purpose, but didn't catch the bait, because that would make their teamwork harder… especially, since she couldn't be sure which side would Shadow choose if it came to conflict between the two of them. _This makes me wonder…how close are those two?_ As she was thinking that, Shadow, who was at the top of their formation signaled them to stop.

"Do you hear that?" he said, quietly and then, they stopped to listen. There was a quiet humming sound coming from the left side of the corridor.

"That must be what we are searching for… but how do we get to the other side of that metal wall? I don't see any doors… should we backtrack?" Asked Rouge, but just then Blaze shoved her aside. "Leave it to me." She stated and started to melt the wall with her fire powers. Since the wall was rusted enough it didn't take long and soon there was a hole big enough for them to fit and no sound was made.

"Good job." Said Shadow which made Rouge furrow her eyebrows. She knew how rarely he praised others, but what was so great about melting some rusty wall? She decided to let it slide and go after him through the hole, unaware, that behind her, Blaze was showing her a tongue in mocking way. After that, the fire cat joined the duo on the other side.

_That…is some big computer _Thought Shadow looking at the tall machine with many monitors placed in a great hall. As far as he knew, this computer could rival with the one in G.U.N. headquarters. Looking at this construction, he wished the doctor would use his brilliant mind for something good rather than evil.

"Do your part Rouge." He ordered going away to search the room for anything of importance. Since the white Bat started working on her task right away, the fire princess decided that she would come and help Shadow...his companionship was better than that of the female agent.

As Shadow threw aside some piles of metal junk and searched for anything, he heard a soft clank of heels against metal floor. He knew that it was Blaze, but didn't bother to turn around. _If she wants something, she will ask. _He thought and continued his task.

Blaze wasn't good at small talks… she actually didn't know how to start conversation with the black hedgehog that sometimes helped her and sometimes could be very selfish in her eyes. She knew what she wanted to tell him but couldn't decide how exactly she was going to do it. Taking a small breath, she decided to test her luck.

"How long do you think we will be in here?" She asked, while looking through some small test probes that lingered on half destroyed shelf, to occupy herself.

"As long as needed." Shadow replied, not taking his eyes of his work, which made Blaze a little angry inside _At least he could turn around, when spoken to._ She decided to try different approach.

"You know. I never thanked you for helping me get the sol emerald back during my earlier visit to Mobius…even if you were on the enemy side for most of the time." She spoke softly, hoping that the hedgehog will not say anything that would make it hard to continue their talk.

"I did what I thought was right. No need to thank me about it. Besides I was only repaying you for your generosity back, when I was trapped in your dimension." Replied the dark hero, which made the fire princess only bit her lower lip so she wouldn't curse his lack of communication skills. _Here I'm trying to simply thank him, and he makes me look like I extorted some sort of debt from him!_ She didn't know who made her mad…herself from past that said stuff about repaying generosity or him because he could just let it drop. True, that she wasn't any different and could relate but it still annoyed her when somebody did act this cold towards her. As she was about to try speaking again, Rouge came up to them.

"I think I found the needed data, so we can get out of here." She said, showing them disc with downloaded files. "I have everything In here. It looks like Eggman is planning to use sol emeralds in some kind of dimensional transporter that would let him conquer other worlds. He also used this facility for some experiments, but now it's abandoned and only his robots remained behind." Continued Rouge as the smile slowly disappeared from her face.

"So, if we don't stop him, he could simply conquer some of weaker universes, build an army there and then continue to attack other worlds with the sheer number of robots." Finished Shadow as if reading through the bat's mind. "We need to finish this quick. Any info where he is located?" Asked Blaze, which got her only displeased look from Rouge. "That's the problem. There was no information about his whereabouts. Hopefully Hope found something by now." Replied the bat truthfully and without mocking tone that she usually used when speaking to Blaze.

"Then let's go back to headquarters. The sooner we get there, the better." Concluded Shadow and as he was about to move toward the exit, many red dots appeared through it. "Scatter!" He yelled and ducked to the side and looking if his two companions also made it…and they did. When he looked back with his ruby eyes, all he saw were dozens robots…they were discovered…

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! Hope you will enjoy it, even if it is short...I wonder if the characters are not OOC. Anyway have a good read :D**

* * *

In the depth of a metal fortress, two robots were slowly working their way up to three heroes that dared to steal from their master. They had only one goal in their robotic mind and that was to eradicate any threat that could arise, should the data go missing. Their red eyes illuminating the darkness while searching for their prey and the occasional flashing of light bulbs on broken walls displayed their bodies of shiny metal. The swarm was keeping the prey inside, weakening it for them, for the moment they reached their destination. Their metal boots clanked on the hard floor, making the sound echo around them; they were nearing their position… and their weapons needed to feel organic tissue on them…

* * *

"Shadow, we can't keep this up forever!" Blaze shouted as she melted three adversaries that had come after her. She scanned the battlefield for another target. Just as she found one, a chaos spear pierced it, causing it to explode.

"I know, but we need to give Rouge time to set the charges up. We can't let those robots roam free in here," the black hedgehog yelled back as he jumped and launched three more chaos spears, killing enemies before him as easy as one would kill a fly. As he landed near the fire princess, he noticed that the robots were circling around them… they were keeping them busy instead of swarming them with full force, but why?

"I really hope she doesn't just leave us in here," Blaze growled while waiting for their opponents to make their move. She didin't trust Rouge, not after their last talk.

"She may be selfish, but she isn't someone who would leave their fellow companions behind." Shadow replied with confidence and launched himself at the enemies, provoking them to action. Normally he would use chaos blast to obliterate them all and escape, but with Blaze in here, she could be caught in its range.

_I really hope you are right_, thought the fire cat as she began her fire dance around her enemies, gracefully attacking and eradicating them one by one. If this keeps up they will get tired soon.

As the fight still continued for minutes, that seemed to be hours, the black hedgehog and lilac feline were back to back, fending off the incoming and never ending enemies, while metal parts were scattered everywhere around the room that got it's fresh marks from this battle.

"You aren't half bad when it comes to fighting," said Blaze with a small smile on her lips. while stabilizing her breathing. "remind me not to get on your bad side."

"I can say the same thing about you," Shadow smirked, not removing his sight from menacing robots, looking for something that would give them an edge. "your fire control powers are impresive."

"Maybe so, but yours are powerfull as well. After we return, why don't we spar to determine whose are strongest?" proposed the fire cat, which got her another one of Shadow's rare smirks. He was wondering about that himself, but never got a chance to ask the fire feline about it thinking she would probably decline. He still didn't knew much about her.

"Gladly—watch out!" He cried as he got them both down, saving both of their heads from an incoming laser.

_Where the hell is that bat? _Shadow growled to himself and just as if on cue, his communicator came to life with a quiet beeping sound. The transmission wasn't of highest quality but he understood what his G.U.N. partner said to him.

"Shadow, the charges are in place, how are both of you doing?" The carefree voice of none other than Rouge the Bat crackled through the speaker. Getting Blaze and himself up, he looked at the surrounding enemies, which had stopped attacking for some reason. Were they being simply polite? No...they were preparing for something.

"We could use some help or…wait—what is this?" As he looked ahead, he saw that the circle of robots parted and through the opening came two robots, different than the horde that they faced. The two looked identical, with height maybe a head above Shadow, stylized in the image of two knights of shiny metal. The robots, one with sword, the other with axe, came inside the circle and spoke in unison.

"Target acquired. Priority: Eliminate enemy threat. Secondary objective: Disarm bomb in section C-5."

"Rouge…it looks like we will be here a little longer. Get out of here and give the commander the data. Send me the timer for the bomb. Blaze and I will catch up later."

"Wait Sha…" Rouge began to say, but Shadow cut the communication short. He turned to Blaze, "Can you still fight princess?" She sent him a small smile.

"Don't underestimate me". With their small exchange concluded, the two of them rushed at enemy robots.

Shadow, who took upon himself the robot knight with dual-handed sword, began his attack with a chaos spear. He wanted to examine its abilities, movement speed and other things that might let him discover its weakness, as any experienced warrior would. As the spear flew through the air, the robot dodged to the side and rushed straight at the Ultimate life-form while swinging its sword horizontally. Seeing that, Shadow performed a slide to get under the machine and attacked with an uppercut, which sent the robot flying into a wall.

"Not so hard are you?" He smirked, only to see the robot get up without a hint of a scratch.

_This will be one long fight_, he deducted, looking over to see how the princess fared.

Blaze didn't have much trouble with her adversary—it was slow enough for her to dodge every attack. The problem was with its hard armor, which made her offense useless. Not only was it resistant to her fire powers, but even her kicks didn't seem to have much effect on it. Just as she was thinking how to attack next, the robot attacked from on high with its axe making a big dent in the floor where she had been standing a mere moment ago. While mid-air, she performed a devastating kick to the robot's head… but it didn't phase it at all. As she landed near Shadow, her golden eyes met his ruby ones

"We need to slow them down. I will get them together. Can you melt the floor under them?" Shadow asked. He had begun forming a plan to counter them.

"I can do it, but what good would it be? They seem unfazed by our attacks," the fire princess grimaced with furrowed brow.

"Just trust me on this one," said the black hedgehog and began his tactic.

The ultimate life-form jumped high in air and landed between the two robots. It was a risky move, since he wasn't sure he would be able to dodge both of their oncoming attacks. Just as predicted, both robots calculated that their chances of destroying the hedgehog together would quicken their fight and acted quickly, each swinging their weapons. Just as the blade and axe were about to eliminate their prey, Shadow warped out of the way, reappearing near Blaze.

"Now!" He shouted and the fire cat began quickly melting the ground under both of the robots' feet. As expected, the old metal floor quickly gave and both of their enemies went down, one floor below.

"Now what?" asked the feline, looking at Shadow, who quickly wrapped his arms around her and uttered the words "Chaos Control", warping them both out of the old base, which exploded some seconds later taking all of their enemies with it.

They reappeared in the forest below with the explosion still lingering in their ears. and smell of burned instalation all around. Blaze, embarrassed about the situation, quickly pushed the hedgehog away… she wasn't used to being this close to anyone, a male especially.

"You could have told me your plan!" She quickly said with an annoyed look on her face, trying hard to replace the blush that was on her face with anger.

"Sorry, I couldn't let those robots know and they seemed intelligent enough," said Shadow, for whom this action didn't have any meaning. He was only doing his job after all… or he was simply good at hiding his own feelings?

"We should get back to the headquarters. I'm sure Rouge will be there with the data," he muttered and slowly began running. Somehow, the last words from the black hedgehog made Blaze upset. Shoving her emotions aside, like she always did, she began chasing after him, wondering how little she actually knew about Shadow the Hedgehog.

* * *

When they entered the headquarters, the others were already waiting. Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Tails, Rouge the Bat and Commander Tower were all present in a small room empty of furnitures, save for some chairs and table with some blueprints on it and a big monitor on wall. Blaze noticed how the two male hedgehogs eyed each other suspiciously, but didn't say a word, nor did they greet one another...another curious thing for her.

"Good. Now that all of us are here, let me tell you what we know," the Commander began while showing them data on big monitor that was in the room. The diagrams were complex...like the whole thing was designed by a madman, which was probably true. "The signal that we traced shows, that Dr. Robotnik is hiding in Downunda, in one of his bases. We will now form a plan to…"

"Wait, a plan? If we know where he is why not attack already?" Blaze asked, instantly ticked off that the commander wanted to waste even more of her time; she had had enough waiting. This action met with approval from Sonic and Knuckles, who also were itching for some good old fashioned action.

"If you let me finish, Miss Blaze," the commander calmly began once more, but Blaze didn't listen and simply left the room. She needed some time alone to calm herself down.

"She is just stressed…she'll come around… Please continue Sir," Rouge offered. reassuring the military man, that he could continue speaking. Amy, having a bad feeling and not wanting to let Blaze do anything stupid, went after her, but nobody paid any notice… or so she thought, unaware that certain ruby colored eyes were observing the situation with interest.

* * *

Blaze was looking through the same window as before, admiring how peaceful this world was. She was deep in her own thoughts when she heard soft footsteps approach her. Without turning around she began speaking since she already knew who was behind her.

"I know what you want to say, Amy, but I've had enough waiting. Even as the commander speaks, out there one of my friends may be badly hurt because of the cataclysms…and that's my fault for not being fast enough." She spoke quietly with clear bitterness in her voice , but stopped after a while. She knew Amy would probably tell her " it's going to be okay", "Sonic is here", etc.

"I know it's hard on you…"

_Here she goes,_ Blaze sighed tired, but at the same time glad that she had such good...friend? She supposed she could call Amy by that title.

"…but I'm sure you understand that we can't simply rush there," said the girl in the red dress, and the fire cat could only sigh again. When Amy was speaking to her like that, she just couldn't be angry at her. As she was about to respond, another presence made itself known.

"Even though you have a fair point Amy, I don't think our princess here will listen to it." The soft, yet strong voice that flew through the room belonged to none other than Shadow the Hedgehog, who slowly made his way towards them, with an emotionless look on his face. As the sound of his footsteps subdued, Amy looked at him puzzled.

"I thought you were making a plan," said the pink hedgehog, pouting at Shadow's sudden appearance. _This isn't good, _she thought_, in this state, those two will probably argue_. Before she could do something about the situation, however, Shadow began speaking again.

"That's why I'm here. We need everyone to form a plan, and the princess being out here isn't exactly helping her own cause."

Amy didn't know what _exactly_ made Blaze explode…if it was the thing Shadow said, or his emotionless voice that he always used. Was it simply the anger that Blaze had put aside since she came to their dimension? That didn't matter, because Blaze finally snapped and what came next wasn't going to end well.

"How dare _you_ tell me where I am needed? If it was about me, I would just go and get my emeralds back by myself!" She growled loudly, nearly yelling at the black hero, who remained unfazed, with bored expression on his face, like he was expecting that outburst.

"So you would rush to your death…_that _would be helpful to your people," he replied, not losing his composure. Amy thought she should do something before things got even _more_ out of control, but again she was late.

"And what would _you_ know of responsibility? You have your world safe, you don't even know anything about mine and you DON'T KNOW HOW IT IS TO LOSE SOMETHING IMPORTANT!" Blaze yelled at the top of her lungs into his face, while looking accusingly at Shadow. She stared deep into his ruby eyes, with her own golden ones full of anger. If her pyrokinetic powers would let her burn people with her sight, then Shadow would probably turn into ash...but she didn't had that kind of power.

As Amy eyes grew wider and wider with each word that left Blaze's mouth all she could do was watch. The royal feline didn't know of Shadow's past, and didn't know that those words were one of the worst possible things for her to say to him. With fast beating heart, Amy knew she needed to act _now_ if she didn't want Shadow to kill the fire princess where she stood, and she knew that if he decided on to something, then he would certainly do it.

"Shadow…" She began calmly, with eyes full of fear for her friend, but her words caught in her throat when a seething look of pure hatred seeped from the black hedgehog's eyes.

In her life, Blaze rarely got angry…but when she did, in her anger she often said things that people would hate her for. Of course she had usually been right when stating that someone didn't know how it is to shoulder a hard duty or to lose something important to them…not many had experienced the things she had, and that was why she usually kept to herself with belief that others wouldn't be able to understand her. However, never in her life had she experienced anyone showing this much hate towards her after things that she said in anger… this time everything was different. When she saw Shadow angry when facing the enemies or when she saw him fight, not willing to forfeit, it wasn't the kind of hatred that would make her scared…it was just anger. Now, the hatred in his eyes sent chills down her spine and worst of all…it was meant for her. The pure feeling of fear that she got from looking at his eyes had frozen the flames of anger that were raging in her mere seconds ago, as she tried to get her own voice out.

"S-shadow…" she stuttered, but the black hedgehog simply looked at her for some time, as if thinking of something, before turning around and storming out of the room with angry steps, either afraid of what he would do if he stayed, or what he would say back.

Standing still, frozen and unable to move, looking on as he exited the hallway, Blaze the Cat heard a quiet voice behind her…a whisper. It belonged to her friend Amy Rose.

"You shouldn't have said that…" she stated and began slowly walking after Shadow, lost in her own thoughts, "we should go. The others are waiting for us." As she began walking towards the door Blaze stopped her.

"Wait, Amy… I know I said something I shouldn't have…" the fire princess started, but the pink heroine only shook her head, silencing her words with this gesture.

"I shouldn't be the one you should be speaking about this. I will only tell you that today you crossed the line with Shadow… and that you should _really _apologize to him." Amy stated quietly, not wanting to go into details of the black hedgehog's very personal past since he wouldn't want for someone to speak about it, behind his back, but Blaze didn't stop there, she wanted...needed to know more.

"Apologize…? I don't even know what to apologize for," she pressed, waiting for one last response from the female hedgehog, who took deep breath.

"I will only say that if anybody _really_ knows what it is like to lose what is important to you, then it's Shadow… he has already lost his everything. I can't say more about this, I'm sorry." With those words, Amy left the area, leaving Blaze to her own thoughts... _What have I done?_ The feline soon went after her into the room where her friends were gathered. Upon entering, she stole a quick glance at Shadow, but he seemed unfazed, like nothing had happened earlier… but one look into his eyes told her that he was still mad, and that she would have to apologize somehow…

* * *

**To be continued... (yay 1/4 story finished!)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Another update! :D Finally chapter 4! Enjoy the story.**

**PS. It's not free from mistakes, so there can be some of them...or a lot I dunno about this xD Will be probably edited in future. If you wanna help me with checking for errors just PM me :)**

* * *

Energy… so much of immeasurable energy swirling around the fabled sol emeralds, as their unlimited power was slowly siphoned away through countless glass pipes, to power new invention of two mad scientists. As the jewels containing endless power lay safe inside the special chamber, away from princess Blaze reach, the two doctors overlooked the operation with focused minds while plotting against themselves, as their plan draw near. Soon, their newest, and most powerful invention will be complete, and then no obstacle will stand before their way to conquer other dimensions. The plan was coming together piece by piece… right now, those annoying pests should be nearing their base… all they had to do, was to wait patiently, and then, they will get rid of them once and for all…

* * *

"I tell you Sonic, we shouldn't have left Shadow and Blaze alone." Said Amy again, but the blue hero would only shook his head like he did many times before.

"And I tell you Amy, even if Shadow IS mad at her, he wouldn't get his personal feelings get the better of him…that I'm sure off. Besides they need to work together if what Tails said is true." Replied the blue hedgehog stubbornly while looking at silent guardian from angel island. Back at the G.U.N. headquarters, they formed a plan to storm Eggman base in teams. Not exactly how Sonic would do it, but he wasn't one to complain if it will make things easier for Blaze. Truthfully, when Amy told him what happened between the fire feline and his dark counterpart, he was worried at first, but in the end he decided that they need to work their differences alone as both of them could be equally stubborn.

The blue hedgehog looked at his companions. They formed a team called Team Assault and it was consisting of Knuckles, Amy and Sonic. Their goal was to attack Eggman fortress from the main entrance and draw as many robots towards them as possible to help others move more freely.

The second team, called Team Stealth, was consisting of Tails and Rouge, who had been ordered to silently slip inside, sabotage the defenses and at the same time provide support to other teams, like uploading maps, turning alarms off or on in different places.

Last team was formed by Shadow and Blaze whose part was to get the emerald back and if needed, make sure to disable Eggman new machine permanently… due to Tails theory that Shadow's chaos powers can negate that from sol dimension, they have been put together. Their team name is Control.

"I still don't think that it was a good idea." Amy said after some thinking, she just hoped that nothing goes wrong between those two, since she knew that both of them were equally strong and wouldn't give up If they started trading fists till one of them lost.

* * *

"Do you have everything set smart boy?" Asked famous thief and treasure hunter, Rouge the Bat, looking at her two tailed companion.

"Team Assault is nearing their location, so we need to be ready, when robots will start pouring out." She finished with a seductive smile, like she always did when not wanting to show her true feelings. Truthfully, she wasn't exactly pleased that she had to work with a kid, but in some way respected him for his brilliant mind. What she didn't like, was that Shadow and Blaze were on the same team, while there was tension between them. Yes, she saw it all, the angry look in Shadow eyes, similar to the one when he wanted to use Ark to destroy humanity for Maria. She could only wonder what had happened between those two, and since she couldn't get any information it was in some way, eating her up from inside. After all she was Shadow's friend or at least considered herself one.

"Miss Rouge?" Asked Tails for what appeared to be more than first time. The look in his honest, sky-blue eyes told her that he was somewhat worried about her being preoccupied.

_Cute, in future he will be a lady-killer_. She thought, while getting her things ready. Shadow and Blaze will have to work their own problems… even though she didn't liked the fire princess, she hoped she wouldn't get hurt because of him… he already had enough hardships in his life and didn't need more.

"I'm ready, let's go and follow me." She exclaimed happily, opening her wings to catch wind, ready to begin their part.

* * *

Sitting calmly in the shadow of mountains, Shadow and Blaze were quietly waiting for their cue, to start attack at Eggman base. There was silence between them and the tension could be felt from both. While the black, emotionless hedgehog looked at the metal tower, shining in the distance, his companion, lilac furred feline stole glances at him from time to time. Blaze the Cat, wished that something would happen…that Shadow would speak or even shout at her but in truth, she knew, she should be the one to apologize for her earlier outburst. Since they left G.U.N. headquarters, she was unable to come with a good way to start conversation with him, not with everyone around, because she wasn't any good at dealing with her feelings or others. The formation of their team didn't help her cause as she first thought it would. Even if they were now alone and could speak freely the whole tension made her feel even more uneasy… she just couldn't tell what he was really thinking, he was just…doing everything like a emotionless robot.

"It doesn't look like they detected any of us yet. I just got update from Rouge. She and Tails are inside and are trying to hack the alarm systems, while sending us map of the base." Replied shortly the hedgehog. Blaze wasn't sure if he was still mad at her or not… his voice and demeanor seemed calm enough but he was good at hiding his emotions…just like her. Up until meeting him, she didn't realize how annoying it could be.

"Should we go inside?" Asked the fire feline but Shadow only shook his head in response.

"We need to wait for the Assault team to make their move first and distract the enemy." He replied, and Blaze bit her lower lip. They went over the plan at least ten times, so everyone…especially Knuckles and Sonic would memorize it, and here she was, making complete idiot out of herself in front of Shadow. Sighing to herself she decided to clear the air between them, since the sooner she will do it, the better for their mission and her world.

"Shadow…about…" She started, but was quickly interrupted by Shadows communicator coming to life with loud cracking sound.

"Hi all, does this cool secret-spy-thing work? This is team Assault, we are making our move. Be ready… and Shadow try to keep up with everyone!" Said the voice of very happy Sonic the Hedgehog, that was soon followed by the big explosion in the distance, making the words that Shadow spoke not heard… and it was better that way. Looking at each other, they decided to act.

"Let's go." said Shadow shortly getting up, and making his way toward the metal tower, while being followed by Blaze the cat, who was cursing under her breath for Sonics timing. For the fastest thing alive he had a very bad habit of doing a lot of things in the worst possible time.

* * *

"Are you having enough fun Knucklehead?" said Sonic with big smile on his face, while spin-dashing through the group of robots, making them explode one by one. He hoped that his earlier message to team Control would made Shadow more focused on mission and not on his argument with Blaze.

"I'm only starting!" Replied the red guardian, as his spiked knuckle beheaded the robot, making it's body fall to the ground with a loud thud. He was really enjoying this, since it could be very boring on Angel Island. Looking after his people wasn't a bad thing, especially with Julie-Su around but he was a warrior and liked good exercise.

"Don't forget me guys!" Yelled Amy, who was wildly swinging her hammer from side to side and massacring whole groups of enemies. Both Sonic and Knuckles had to admit, she really became stronger with time.

"How about a little contest? The one who destroys the most, wins one wish from both of the losers!" Replied Sonic to their friends while making more and more robots explode with his awesome fighting skills, performing homing attacks on his enemies.

"Count me in!" with smile shouted Knuckles, and was soon joined by Amy Rose saying "I won't lose to you guys!"

Just as the trio continued their assault they were unaware that all of it was known by mad scientists. It all went according to their plan…

* * *

As the action continued and team Assault, destroyed more and more enemies, Rouge and Tails were working on computers inside Eggman lab. Their job wasn't exactly easy, since it involved a lot of hacking and their hardware wasn't working as expected to Eggmans usual tech. Something was different about it and Tails was the first to notice it.

"This code can't be right…" the twin tailed fox muttered to himself with his voice grim, catching the white bat attention, making her slowly come toward him and look over his shoulder.

"What can't be right?" she asked while looking at the monitor he was working on. The data was so complex that she was in awe how a kid this young could understand it all, when she, a trained spy had difficulties.

"It's just…too easy. Sometimes I feel that the files hack themselves without me doing anything." He said not looking back from the yellow screen. He didn't like it one bit. Biting his lower lip, he tried different approaches to see what was going on, but nothing gave him any answers.

"Do you think Eggman knows we are inside?" Inquired the master thief while deep in thought, but not getting response from yellow fox, she continued.

"We should probably tell it to Shadow and Sonic. Communicate it to them, while I will make sure we are not observed" Ordered the G.U.N. agent walking towards the door gracefully, leaving Tails alone to his task. She wondered if maybe they were playing by Eggman rules and were coming straight into his trap. Unaware to her, she was soon to get her answers…

* * *

While the explosions were resounding everywhere, the pair consisting of black hedgehog and lilac cat came near another entrance… at least according to the map that was uploaded to them. So far, they didn't meet any resistance, meaning that their plan was coming smoothly. Deciding that there was no danger of being detected, Blaze spoke softly to Shadow.

"Do you think others are doing well?" wondered the fire feline aloud, trying to get his attention, since all she saw was his back turned towards her and the silence made her anxious.

"I believe you have communicator. Why not ask them princess?" Replied the dark hero, not taking his eyes out of the green bushes, since enemies could be everywhere. He didn't want to sound mean to Blaze. Truthfully he dismissed the hate towards her about what she said earlier…after all, she didn't knew much about him or his past and said all this stuff in anger. He was mature enough to know this, even if at first it really angered him.

_She simply doesn't know._– he thought. Of course it didn't mean he was going to make it easy for her. If she wanted to apologize then she was welcomed to do it, but if not, then it wasn't his concern. He will finish his mission and send her home anyway, but still, he preferred to stay on good times with the fire princess as he enjoyed her company unlike other annoyingly loud mobians.

"There really is no need to be mean, Shadow." She pouted looking at his strong back. Here she was, trying to apologize but he was so… stubborn. She believed that he was probably still mad at her but there really was no need to act so cold towards her.  
_  
Why is it always like this when we meet…- _She thought to herself, remembering the last time they meet each other, when her search for sol emeralds made her come to this dimension.

"I wasn't being mean. In case you didn't notice, we have mission to do, and there might be enemies lingering around. This isn't the time to chat freely." Said Shadow the Hedgehog, while looking ahead unaware to emotions that showed on fire feline face, as the entrance was in his sight with no guards… somehow it was too easy…and did he heard something?

"Don't dare to patronize me, It's my world that is in danger and I know what we have to do…I just wanted to…about earlier…" She began to say, looking embarrassed at her feet. The anger that was rising inside her just now, calming quickly. She wasn't going to make him hate her more, not after he helped her last time choosing her world above his mission.

_He is helping me again and all I do is act like this…how unsightly.-_ Just as she was going to continue, both of theirs communicators came to life.

"Shadow! This is Tails! We have been all tricked, look out for any enemies, they know what we…" Shouted the young Mobian through to them, making both of heroes put up their guard with the reflex of seasoned warriors…but it was already too late, as enemies started pouring from behind them.

* * *

Sonic was running at full speed through the metal corridors. Tails voice, that sounded three minutes ago only told him what he knew already. First, Amy and Knuckles were captured, making Sonic the only one on the battlefield left, but before he could get them to a safe place they were taken inside the base by robots. He tried to communicate with other two teams but they didn't reply.

_That's why I don't like complex plans. We should just attack Eggman head on –_ He thought to himself avoiding laser traps and robots that were inside the base. He hoped that his friends weren't hurt but knowing Eggman they were probably held prisoners…otherwise he wouldn't take them inside alive. He knew, he needed to find them fast, and since doing things FAST was his specialty, he ran along steel corridors checking each room.

_Nope, not here, again miss, nada, null_ – Thought Sonic, as he opened and closed each door… he felt that time was running out with each passing second and he really hated being late to the party.

* * *

The metal room wasn't any different from any others that Eggman used for his bases. Countless of monitors on walls, big energy cage, with six robot guards on its sides and some strange invention to the left. What was different and out of place, was the black curtain that hided half of the room they were all in.

"Mwahahahaha…" Laughed dr Ivo Robotnik maniacally, looking at six of Sonic friends trapped in energy cage. Everything was going according to his and dr Eggman Nega calculations. First, they made everyone chase ghosts inside his abandoned bases buying enough time to finish their new inventions and then, they "helped" them attack this base. While splitting them apart, they captured each of them and by using one of their newest creation "The egg-sealer", they blocked their special abilities. All they had to do now was the last step of their plan.

"Really now, for all of you to fall for our trap so easily. Wouldn't be surprised by Angel Island guardian but you Shadow?" Mocked the mad scientist in red attire and round glasses, while looking at the heroes, with most of them unconscious, save for Shadow and Blaze.

"Hmph. You still haven't trapped us all doctor. Whatever invention it is, we will destroy it anyway, so why not save yourself trouble and just stop this? World domination wasn't what dr Gerald wanted." Replied calmly Shadow, silently turning his communicator on, while helping Blaze keep up on her feet. Eyeing the fire princess he wasn't sure if it was her steel will or stubbornness that kept her awake, but respected her for it.

"That's right, you still didn't catch Sonic, so just give me back mine sol emeralds. You have no right to use them for your invention, since they belong to my world." Said Blaze while panting heavily. She couldn't use her flames right now and was very tired. Looking to her right she saw the invention that Eggman used to seal away their powers…it looked like a big egg with energy swirling inside. How did he manage to do it was a big mystery even to her, but she wouldn't be stopped here.

"I wouldn't be so sure your highness." a mocking tone came from shadows and accompanying it, none other than dr Eggman Nega came forward revealing his existence to heroes.

"Being inhabitant of sol dimension, I believe I do have every right to use those emeralds in our plan, wouldn't you agree?" Asked the man with grey moustache with a very polite manner.

Shadow was puzzled at first, seeing both Eggmans side by side, but it actually didn't surprise him. He already knew that most of other dimensions had different Eggmans so it was expected.

As Blaze was about to respond, the black hedgehog stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder.

"And what is this plan of yours?" he asked, waiting for their reactions. He knew how Eggman liked to gloat about everything and if his counterpart from Blaze's dimension was similar, then that would help them buy some time for faker.

"Why Shadow…glad you asked." Replied the scientists in unison, and one of them came to the curtain parting it and revealing something that looked like a big cannon from metal. Shadow, seeing this, only lifted his eyebrow… Eggman could build bigger guns if he wanted… what was the deal about this?

"I'm not impressed doctor. This cannon doesn't look really impressive." Said the hedgehog folding his arms on his chest. Something was fishy about this new invention. Weren't the doctors building some kind of dimensional transporter anyway? Something didn't add. Grinning madly, Eggman gestured toward the metal contraption

"It's no mere gun Shadow. You see…it's dimension gun, that we will use to transport all of you out of Mobius prime" His creepy smile widened, showing how strongly he believed it would let him triumph.

"It doesn't look very charming I admit, but…it's functional." Said his counterpart from sol dimension inspecting the whole contraption.

"And what could you possibly gain by sending us somewhere? We can simply come back can't we?" Asked Blaze cocking an eyebrow, not getting what was so marvelous about this invention. She could feel that it's getting easier to stand. If this continues, maybe others will awaken soon.

"Rather than build some useless machines just give me back the emeralds." She said not missing a beat. She knew what Shadow was trying to do and she also could play this game.

"Really princess… you travel dimensions and don't even know basic things about them. " Replied Eggman Nega with a tone of teacher.

"Allow me to insight you in a very easy way. As you know, the time flow in some dimensions is different… if we for example send you into one, that has time difference of one hundred years here to one minute there…I doubt you will be able to escape…not before we will rule this and yours world." Finished the sol dimension scientist while stiffing a laugh, seeing as both ruby and gold eyes widened in horror. Looks like they finally got their master plan. Just as he was going to gloat more, the wall on the other side exploded and spin dashing blue ball came through it sending debris all over the place and onto their new machine.

"Missed me?" Asked none other than Sonic the Hedgehog eyeing the room and getting the update on the situation  
_  
Looks like everyone is safe _– he thought to himself and looked at both mad doctors. "Two Eggmans, two time's the party." He grinned and speed towards them, not wasting more time.

"Quick, start the machine!" Shouted Eggman Nega in anger at his counterpart. Sonic wasn't supposed to be here this quick! He looked at both Blaze and Shadow who were now smirking knowingly.

_You…-_ He thought and ordered the robots that were guarding the cage to stall the hedgehog, while he himself went for the ladder up the cannon controls.

As Sonic jumped from one robot head to another, he neared the cage, prioritizing the safely of his friends. He heard their conversation through Shadow's the communicator and wasn't going to let the doctors use their machine but first he needed to get others out. With the corner of his eye, he saw Eggman making quick adjustments as the machine came slowly to life.

_When did this fat man learned to move so quickly? _He wondered to himself, looking for a way to disable the dimensional transporter…and the easiest would be to smash it.

"Not on my watch Eggman." He said, with a smile as he spin dashed one of the robots sending it straight into dimensional cannon. He was sure that would destroy it, but it only made big dent into electronic parts, while destroying some stuff. This action however made both Shadow and Blaze chuckle as they saw frustration on Eggman's face as it became red with anger.

"Damn you!" Shouted Eggman from up the cannon. While imputing dimension coordinates the screen blackened before his eyes but no matter. He still would send them all away.

"Get a load of this!" with all his might he slammed his fist into big red button… but there was no shoot.

"Huh?" Said both Eggmans looking at the invention surprised…something must have been off.

"Haha…looks like your toy ran out of juice!" Grinned the blue blur disabling last robot guardian with axe kick, denting it's head in the process.

"Now…how about you surrender yourself? I'm sure you will have a lot of time to think about what went wrong." Asked Sonic looking at both Eggmans faces.

"Cut the chat and get us out of here." Ordered Shadow to his blue counterpart. He had enough standing in this cage and wanted to get his powers back to show both Eggmans who they angered.

Grinding their teeth, both scientists looked at one another. "It's your fault, now do something about it!" Said Eggman, in anger as his counterpart smile faded replaced now with frown.

"Mine fault? You were the one who worked on the part that was hit!" shouted back Eggman Nega. As the two scientist began arguing, the blue hero slowly proceeded toward the cage to let his friends out. Just as he was about to disable the controls, he heard a beep from behind…then another… and another.

"Hm…it isn't supposed to do this." Said dr Ivo Robotnik while closely examining the cannon.

"Wasn't the beeping sound supposed to happen when the cannon will enter overhear mode?" he asked his other counterpart while getting rid of the sweat that formed on his head.

"That means…" Began Eggman Nega but Sonic didn't hear the rest as beeping sound increased and drowned all sound. Everyone eyes widened in horror, as the blue hero began running towards dimension cannon but it was too late as all exploded in white flash…

After the explosion died, all that was left in the room was empty cage, debris from fallen robots and both scientists with torn clothes, presenting very unsightly image.

"It…worked?" Asked Eggman aloud, what was soon followed by dance of victory from both of them.

"HOOO...HOHOHOOO!" Laughed both of them, for some more time, but when their laughter died Eggman Nega looked at his Mobius Prime counterpart with questioning look.

"So…where did you send them?" He asked but was only meet with Eggman shake up his shoulders.

"Who cares? We got rid of them and that's what counts." He replied with big, creepy smile.

"We should start planning our conquest…we still need to rebuild our invention." And with those last words they exited the room, unaware that something bad was going to happen soon, behind their back, where broken cannon parts were scattered…

* * *

**Will be continued...a BIG surprise in next chapter, moar Shadaze since real fun begins now...**


	6. Chapter 5

**As said...a BIG chapter with great scenes. Hopefully I haven't failed at writting the idea :D Enjoy!**

**Also many thanks to She Who Greeted Death for helping out with beta-reading :D**

* * *

Hot desert wind blew hard against the sea of sand, moving lazily the clouds here and there in this unchanged landscape. Great desert wasn't exactly a place to spend time of your life, especially since in sight there wasn't anything but small granules of sand as far as the eye could see. As the harsh land remained unmoved and no life could be seen, suddenly there could be heard a crack. The air grew heavy as another crack resounded, this time bringing with it small electrical discharge. Something was happening on one of the dunes nearby.

Another crack and a piece of landscape, resembling part of broken mirror, fell down and shattered when it came in contact with the ground, leaving behind a small hole into the void. As the elements fell one after another widening the hole, there, one could hear a female scream. It sounded for some more seconds until a single lilac silhouette which clearly was holding onto something of similar size, appeared inside the darkness, coming closer and closer until it finally passed through.

The swirling ball of lilac, purple, white, red and black rolled on the hot sand finally coming to a stop after some seconds. This ball of fur turned out to be Shadow the Hedgehog, and Blaze the Cat, two warriors who now laid in a very embarrassing position on desert sand with sun shining down on them brightly.

Their position was as follows. Black hedgehog lying on his back, with his arms around the cat's slim waist, with eyes bulging out…why were his eyes like this you may ask? Well…it was because a certain lilac cat who now sat atop his lower waist with legs spread, was holding his neck with all her might, while trying very hard not to look.

"B..Blaze…" croaked the ultimate life form, trying to get the princess attention, and seeing as the fire cat of royal birth slowly opened her golden eyes, it seemed to work.

"S..sorry Shadow." Said Blaze embarrassed, while loosening her grip quickly, seeing as she nearly choked her companion. Her breath, still heavy from the feeling of endless falling was still escaping her rapidly, unable to recover. Said feeling of falling, when coming through the portal made her grasp the closest thing she could…which turned out to be the ultimate life form neck.

"No harm done." Reassured her the black hedgehog, only now realizing the position they were in.

"Um…could you also let me stand?" He asked politely, hoping that his companion wouldn't overreact… he didn't had luck.

"Kya!" screamed Blaze as she rolled out of the hedgehog, taking him with her in the process, so he now lay atop her, face now mere inches from hers as ruby eyes looked straight into amber ones. One could say it looked romantic if not for the fact, that the fire princess started to struggle with all her might finally throwing Shadow off her by kicking him with the heel of her boot square in the chest as her warrior reflex got better of her.

After she succeeded Blaze quickly got up with fast beating heart and turned her face away, trying very hard to hide her embarrassment while getting rid of sand that was all over her clothes.

Poor Shadow, now laying with his face in warm sand slowly got up, while cursing the cat in his mind.

_Why couldn't she just get up like a normal person would? _he asked himself, also red in face, but dismissing it as the result of hot sand on his muzzle.

"Where are we?" he heard Blaze say, as he took his own time to scan the landscape, seeing sand and of course more sand.

"It's a desert." He exclaimed emotionless, not bothering to look at the lilac furred girl… he slowly began losing his patience with her… after all if she was more aware of her surroundings and not trying to pick random conversations with him, maybe they wouldn't be ambushed from behind right before Eggman base.

"…" Blaze didn't reply to Shadow, instead thinking to herself that stupid questions only yield stupid answers. The second thing she did, was ponder about the situation they were in. It was obvious that they were in another dimension just like both Eggmans wanted. The situation was dire and she knew that…With her being here, her world could explode at any moment as she was standing on warm sand and had no knowledge where "_here_" was. Worse…she could feel lack of her powers so they must have been left in Mobius prime still sealed in that egg looking jar…so she was pretty much defenseless. She had enough of all of this and was tired of everything…

_I shouldn't have asked others to help me with my duty… _She thought, angry at herself.

"We need to keep going" Said the hedgehog while starting to walk forward. He didn't knew where he was but it didn't matter to him. Standing won't help them so there was only one thing to do, and that was to find someone that could tell them where they are. Obviously the cat didn't like his simple idea.

"Wait Shadow. Do you have any idea where are you going?" Asked Blaze turning to him and looking at his face with furrowed eyebrows.

"How should I know? We just need to keep moving and hope to find our way home." Stated the stoic black hero, but as he was about to take one more step the fire princess shouted at him angrily.

"That's it?! You want to keep walking and just HOPE we will find anything?" Said Blaze miffed at the dark hero behavior and who had just about enough of wasting time.

"Yes, that's what we are going to do, or do YOU have any better ideas your highness?" Said Shadow through gritted teeth trying very hard not to yell at impatient feline. He understood her point of view but wasn't going to let her or anybody else order him around. He will try his hardest and the princess didn't exactly helped him.

"We…I need to save my world at all cost." Stated Blaze while looking Shadow square in the eye, anger building up inside her.

"Then stop picking random conversations all the time and start walking." Replied the black hedgehog to that, wishing to end their conversations and start actually doing something…they shouldn't be on this sun since they had no water and he knew that they couldn't run like they used to…however his last sentence added oil to the fire.

_I was trying to APOLOGIZE! _Yelled Blaze in her thoughts angrily, but instead said more calmly, hiding her emotions like always "I would have stopped if you weren't acting like you don't care about anything all the time."

"At least I cared about searching for enemies before entrance to Eggmans base. Too bad YOU didn't do it and they got us from behind. Now keep moving." Replied Shadow shortly, not wishing to go deeper into this conversation, but the fire cat wouldn't stop here.

"So you think it's MY fault that we got ambushed?! Do you even know what responsibilities I have as a guardian?! YOU THINK IT'S EASY TO LIVE LIKE I DO?!" Yelled Blaze angrily unable to stop her anger anymore. Since the emeralds have gone missing, nothing was going well. First they lost too much time, then Rouge made fun of her, and now they were trapped somewhere while Shadow blamed her for their earlier failure. While all of what he said was partially true, she was too proud to accept his point of view, who was he anyway to blame her? She didn't need him, and it was HIS fault that she was distracted instead of being aware of their surroundings.

While Blaze was thinking that, Shadow on the other hand finally decided to put the fire princess in her place like any other person that wanted to tell him what to do or blame him for their own fault, so without any further thoughts he said coldly and full of his own anger.

"I don't care about all of this. We need to get moving and stop wasting our energy and time! Right now you are NOT helping again. You will either follow me on your own free will, or I will drag you behind myse-" _SLAP _a dull sound resounded, cutting the hedgehog response as a red mark in the shape of open hand appeared on his muzzle. Shadow blinked once, then twice registering what had happened…then closed his eyes, sighed deeply and did the only thing that was left for him. He simply started walking, leaving stunned Blaze behind him still looking at her open hand in shock of what had just happened.

_What have I done…to again lose my temper like that…_ She thought while standing frozen, still looking at her white gloved hand now with the sand on it like it was guilty of her actions. The burning anger that was flowing out of her mere seconds ago was now completely gone and now she felt as if someone had thrown her into frozen lake.

_He is helping me of his own will and I hurt him. I should be ashamed of myself! _She looked ahead at the figure of Shadow the Hedgehog now slowly walking away from her. She was afraid for her world, afraid that she will fail her duty as sol emeralds guardian and a ruler, and now she was afraid to be left alone in this unknown world without her powers and no way home… and she just slapped Shadow the Hedgehog, the only person that wanted to help her return everything back to normal…

_I need to stop him_ she thought to herself prepared to do it. She really wanted to say something, anything to him… but no words came out of her mouth no matter what efforts she took. Seeing as the figure was not turning and the distance between them grew she did the only thing she could and began slowly walking behind him wishing all the time, that he wouldn't suddenly turn around and tell her to leave him alone and go away… he didn't.

In his long life, Shadow the Hedgehog felt many kinds of pain from simple bullets piercing his body, to the pain of burning flames, while entering the atmosphere…but the pain on his muzzle was different. The red mark did sting slightly but what hurt him most was, that he failed to speak properly to Blaze and calm her down. True, she was stubborn and prideful and hid her emotions just like him, but behind it all, she was just a girl who shouldered duty that might be too heavy for her. If Maria would still be alive, he was sure that she would scold him, after all he was supposed to be the ultimate life form, savior of others and yet he couldn't even make one female put her trust in him. He heard her silent footsteps behind his back, but he didn't know if he should turn around and face her or not…he was somewhat unsure if they would continue their argument or not, so he simply walked forward with fire cat behind him who this time didn't try to pick any conversations.

* * *

A long scream of two female figures cut through the sky, only to be silenced by a loud splash of water, thus making it all quiet again. The swamps that remained unchanged for many years and were home to many wild animals, from small insects to bigger ones like frogs or snakes, now had two new inhabitants who looked really out of place. One was a pink female hedgehog with her eyes wide open, from the bumpy ride through a dimension portal, and the other was the white bat, also a female. As the portal closed behind them with cracking sound both girls finally got their voice back from their unexpected travel.

"Eew…" Exclaimed the pink one as she got rid of the mud from…all over her body.

"Gross…" Replied the ivory one standing up, with the most disgusted face she could make.

The two females were none other than Amy Rose and Rouge the Bat, who now, covered in swamp water and mud were looking around their surroundings. The two of them got conscious just before Sonic started fighting with Eggmans robots, but were too weak to move. The fall somehow made them recover but they still felt weak in their legs.

"Where are we?" Asked Amy with her high pitched voice which annoyed Rouge like nothing on this world and their own.

"It looks like we were thrown into another dimension, thanks to Sonic's carelessness, now can you stop being so annoyingly loud?" Said Rouge still angry about her ruined make up.

"Excuuuse me?" The pink heroine asked, not happy with the tone the bat used to communicate with her. They didn't exactly like each other and she knew Rouge bullied Blaze in some way before.

"Please, get the mud out of your ears and I will kindly repeat." Said the bat with smile all over her face, but the mud and ruined mascara took away the effect of her being carefree about their situation.

"Why you…"Started Amy but after a while sighed and composed herself…they didn't had time for this right now.

"…listen. We can argue here or whatever, but this area doesn't look safe and we need to find the others."

"Hmph…I can play nice…for now. As for the others, they are probably fine…unless Shadow and Blaze are together." Replied the ivory bat, while thinking of the possible scenario between the two, which made the pink hedgehog look puzzled

"What do you mean?" Asked Amy, cleaning herself while looking at their surroundings, seeing only mud and trees.

"I mean, those two don't exactly see eye to eye Pinkie…and I saw the angry look on Shadows face. I assume something unpleasant happened between them, so for Shadow's sake I hope they aren't together." Snapped Rouge at Amy who in her eyes were slow and too naïve.

"Even if they are, I don't suppose they would hurt each other in any way." Said Amy, strongly believing in what Sonic told her, but still a little bit unsure at her own heart. If Rouge told her that those two shouldn't be together, then it was probably right and this really made her feel uneasy and afraid for her friend.

"We will see. I won't cry for the fire kitty if something will happen to her. Now…I think we should find out where we are." Replied the bat, hoping secretly that Shadow and Blaze are NOT together or things could get really ugly and she really would hate for Shadow to revert back to his more closed-up self from past. If somebody deserved a happy life, he would be the one and she wouldn't let anyone ruin it…especially Blaze, with how she treated him each time they met.

"Can you scout the area from above?" Asked Amy but the bat was already on it, flying up high, while in thought. She was thinking of ditching the pink annoyance here, but she could use her if needed, so for now she will play with her on the same team.

"I see some village…we should head there." Said the bat, while slowly gliding in that direction, making the pink hedgehog travel through the mud all the time cursing the other female under her breath and her ability to fly. The swamp was a scary place so she really needed to watch her steps. Sighing to herself she hoped that this village that Rouge spoke of was near and that its inhabitants were hospitable.

* * *

They traveled through the sand without rest for hours and there still was no sign of civilization or even a drop of water. The footsteps they left on the desert were slowly vanishing behind them as they made their way forward…always forward, wishing that soon something would happen. Since their last argument not even one of them said anything, not even one word, but in some way it was calmer like this…they preferred the sanctuary of their own thoughts. Their strong march weakened with time, since they only rested two times, with no food and nothing to drink.

As the sun was setting down, and their shadows were getting longer and longer witch each passing second. It was then, when they heard the very first signs of life. It was a loud scream of a person…or so they hoped. Acting quickly Shadow gestured behind himself for Blaze to stop… if there was any danger, they shouldn't risk both of their lives and without their powers they were nearly defenseless… well she was, he supposed, since he didn't know if she had any hand-to-hand combat training like him. Silently making his way toward the source of the sound, the black hero looked at something resembling a big cart. There he saw a yellow colored male monkey and two dark figures in black robes with swords similar to scimitars, threatening him.

_Bandits… no matter the world they look the same everywhere. _He thought to himself and silently returned to his companion.

"It appears there is a lone merchant being robbed by two thugs. We could probably handle them and then we may be able to get some answers…or at least directions for nearest town, but those two are armed with swords. I will take them out by myself since they didn't see us yet, stay behind me just in case, and be on the lookout for more of them." Ordered Shadow to Blaze, who just replied with a short nod and a quiet whisper.

"I understand…be careful." She could tell him, that she can also fight, but didn't, deciding that maybe it's better to let him do everything his way…she had done enough for today and was still ashamed of herself and her behavior, even if the mark she left on Shadows muzzle was long gone.

With the silent approval from Blaze, the black hedgehog slowly made his way towards the wooden cart, with material roof and with a strange animal attached to it. Since both of the thugs were standing with their back to him he silently came very near, trying very hard not to make any sound.

_When we get back I need to thank Rouge for improving my stealth skills._ He thought to himself remembering hours of training with his ally. As he continued to shorten the distance between himself and his goal he could hear strange sounds coming from those thugs. The merchant of course saw him, but didn't dare to act in any way…this was after all his chance to be rescued, even if his savior didn't look very trustworthy and wore strange attire.

When Shadow was close enough he silently put his hands on both sides of his enemies heads and…smashed them together with all the strength he could muster, making both of the thugs fall to the ground with loud metallic thud, making the robes reveal distorted faces of two rusty machines. _– Robots? _– He thought suddenly becoming more wary of the merchant.

Standing still, he eyed the stranger who seemed to recover his voice just in time to break the ice, before the black hedgehog would get the idea to break something in him.

"Thank you kind stranger. For a minute I thought I wouldn't be able to see another day… damn robots." Said the yellow monkey, as he kicked the rusty head with full force.

"Could you let me hear the name of my hero?" Asked the monkey, apparently still wary of Shadow's presence.

"My name is Shadow…Shadow the Hedgehog mister…" replied Shadow, still at edge. Something about this monkey seemed off but he couldn't grasp the idea. Maybe it was how talkative the guy was.

"Gold the Monkey, merchant and husband of Gala the Serpent, at your service." Said the man, while making a strange gesture of bowing down while holding strange amulet with his left hand, what Shadow assumed to be some way of greeting in this world.

"Since you saved me, I assume some kind of reward is necessary. Is there any way that I can repay you?" Asked the merchant while still eyeing the black hedgehog suspiciously. To Shadow, the merchant didn't look like a threat so quickly forming a plan in his head he decided to reply as follows.

"Me and my companion were attacked by bandits. We managed to escape but all of our belongings were stolen from us. We don't exactly know where we are since they dragged us a long way, so if you could just point us in the direction of the nearest town we would be very grateful." In Shadow's mind that was great idea, since with this they would get all the info they needed and could be on their way.

"Oh my…the same thing would happen to me if you hadn't shown up…may I pry, where is your companion?" Asked the merchant still suspicious of the hedgehog…something was off but Shadow couldn't grasp the situation fully. He was sure that after this lie he would get on good terms with the merchant but he still didn't look convinced. Deciding that even if this guy attacked him, he and Blaze would win easily he shouted to call his…friend? He wasn't certain that was the correct term right now.

"It's safe Blaze, you can come!" Said loudly the dark hero as Blaze the Cat appeared from behind a dune and came down the sand, slowly and gracefully making her way towards the merchant cart, while observing it curiously with her gold eyes shining in the rays of setting sun. Shadow noticed that the merchant relaxed and exhaled the air he has been keeping inside. Taking it for a good sign he decided to continue with gaining his trust.

"As I was saying. If you could just point us in the right direction, we would be on our way. That's all we wish to ask." Shadow was sure, with this, they would be ready to set for nearest town…after all what he was asking for wasn't much, but it looked like the monkey had different plan in mind.

"How can I do something like that? The nearest town is two days away from this place when traveling on foot and I see that those bandits stole even your bonding amulets…" Said the merchant, pointing at small silver ring on thin strap that was around his neck. In Shadow's eyes it wasn't anything fancy…but he supposed it was important and made a mental note to himself to get more info about it.

"It must have been those banished. They always steal people's amulets and try to get inside the towns!" Continued the merchant angrily but Shadow or Blaze didn't had any idea what a bonding amulet was in the first place, why was it necessary, or who those banished were. So they decided to let the merchant talk and provide them with more information.

"Don't worry mister Shadow, I will take you and your lovely wife to the city, and since I do owe you my life, I will present you with a spare copy of the amulets so the villagers won't think you are evil and chase you away. Hop on the cart…it's not safe to stay here, especially after dark, and I have enough room to give you a lift!" Said the merchant with a broad smile making sure everything in the cart was set, missing totally dumbfounded look on both Shadow and Blaze faces, who weren't prepared to be mistaken for a couple, let alone for married one.

"Let's just play along…it looks like those amulets are necessary to even be able to enter towns." Whispered the black hedgehog to Blaze quickly, slightly afraid she would correct the merchant and thus making the situation worse.

"Okay. But we need to find more about our situation…and…shouldn't we correct him that we are not married?" Replied the fire princess while surpassing the blush that slowly appeared on her face… thankfully in the rays of setting sun it wasn't very visible. Just as Shadow was about to respond to her question, the merchant cut in.

"You folks ready? You can sit in the back, while I will drive. The water container is also there so feel free to drink some since you do look slightly dehydrated…how many hours did you travel anyway? There should also be a change of clothes in my wares, so please, do change, because those you are wearing look similar to those of banished…I take it, that they even stole your attire and gave you something different. " Gold the Monkey shouted loudly, with clear hint of annoyance at the actions of those so called banished.

Shadow eyed Blaze with his ruby eyes, the look in them serious as ever, and quickly whispered "We will correct him later…just play along." And just as he said that, the princess replied with small nod even if not fully convinced if they should lie to this honest man, but deciding to play along like Shadow wished.

"That's pretty much this, but we didn't get their clothes…let's say we stole from them." Replied Blaze, shortly, wishing to at least be some help, feeling guilty of lying. By her beliefs the royalty shouldn't do stuff like this, and she also noticed that her lie made even Shadow furrow his eyebrows. He probably didn't know she would go along with his lie. Just as her black companion was supposed to say anything the loud and cheerful merchant said happily…he reminded her of Marine somehow.

"So you DO speak miss. I was afraid that you were one of those wives that got their vocal cords cut out… I hate this law, that gives the husband the right to order so… no offense to both of you, if you support it. That's only my personal opinion." Replied with a clear content the merchant as both Shadow and Blaze neared the cart to climb it.

"None taken mister Gold. I also don't agree with this practice, but who are we to argue?" Replied Shadow elusively to this, hoping they weren't being tested by the honest merchant. Remembering his earlier talks with Blaze, Shadow wondered about this practice.

_Seeing as women can really talk too much and too loud, and yell a lot…_ He thought looking with the corner of his eye at Blaze _…somehow I'm not surprised._This look of his made Blaze look at him in question, but he simply shook his head and motioned with his chin for her to climb the cart first which she started to do.

"Aye. Hold tight. It can be a little bumpy, but you will quickly accustom to it. If you are bored, I believe that I have some books in my wares, as long as you don't damage them you can read them." Said the merchant with a broad smile and faced forward. With quick shout, he commanded the strange camel-like animal to move forward, while singing something to himself about hardships of being a merchant, leaving Shadow and Blaze to their own newfound problems.

* * *

As the two females made their way through the seemingly endless swamp, they soon stood before a group of wooden houses with not the best design. The smell wasn't pleasant but they needed to get information and this was the only place to get it…if anybody was living here that is.

"Anyone home?!" Asked Amy loudly while going forward some steps, but was halted by Rouge hand which landed heavily on her shoulder.

"Shh…look. There are people, but it looks like they are afraid of us. We shouldn't be so loud and barge in like that." Patronized the G.U.N. agent, whose training included being able to contact small settlements if needed.

"We are not a threat to you. We got lost, separated from our friends and come in peace. If you want, help us, if not we will be on our way and won't bother you again." Said the white beauty, and waited patiently, while earning a quizzical look from her companion. After a while one of the doors opened and through them came an old bear with straw hat on his head. He had a big and long brown beard.

"You don't have bond amulets… did you escape from kingdom of Veleria?" Asked the bear suspiciously, wary of them. He wasn't afraid of two females, if they posed a treat the whole village would defend him, but if they were not alone things could really turn ugly.

"We aren't exactly from here…My name is Amy Rose, and hers is Rouge the Bat. What are bonding amulets anyway mister…" Stated Amy, which earned both her and Rouge a sigh of relief from the old bear.

"My name is Claw the Bear young misses, and you are either good spies or really travelers from far away, if you don't know basic stuff like that… but the truth will come with time if you are honest or not." Said Claw, still on his guard.

"We can't exactly let unknown people into the village…those are dark times. But if you really want to go in, we must restrain you. After we confirm that you are NOT spies of the high lord, then we will be glad to help you." Continued the old bear clearly not pleased with the way, he must treat those two females, for if they were truly travelers and not spies, he would feel really guilty for treating two women like that.

"And what guarantee do we have that no harm will fall upon us?" Asked Rouge to be certain that the decision they make won't get them killed, while at the same time analyzed all the info they got from this simple settler. She especially wondered why folks like him would be this suspicious about strangers.

"You don't have any. It's your choice miss." Replied calmly the bear, looking both females into their eyes as if looking for hidden intentions.

"We will go" Exclaimed Amy, with her mind made up which made Rouge look at her with her mouth open wide.

"WHAT?!" She nearly yelled getting some angry looks from village residents who clearly valued their peace and silence. Turning to the bat, the pink hedgehog replied simply.

"We don't have any other choice do we?" Analyzing what she heard, Rouge sighed finally giving up, since her companion was right…and if things go south, then they can simply escape.

"Okay…but If things go bad I'm blaming you."

* * *

As the wooden cart swayed from side to side, Shadow and Blaze both looked at each other in silence, resting in the shade that the protective roof provided for them. Of course the air was still very dry but the more the sun settled, the colder it became. Now safe from certain death in the desert, both of them were deep in thoughts and were trying to come up with some way to start civilized conversation with each other. The first one to melt the ice was of course Blaze, since she was slightly more communicative than Shadow...and felt the need to say a lot of things to him.

"It looks like we ended up in a very strange dimension…but at least we now know there are people living here." She said which relied her a nod from silent dark hero, but she wasn't satisfied with his short reply.

"What do you think we should do now?" Asked the fire princess, while stealing glances at their surroundings. It wasn't anything luxurious, just a big cart with material roof. Inside there were some chest and barrels…probably the wares of the kind merchant. Also, she saw that under them, there was somewhat old blanket, probably it was the place where the merchant slept during cold desert nights. The swaying didn't bother her much…she was used to it, when traveling with Marine by ship. Thinking of it, she grew homesick. She wondered if everything was okay in her world.

"We should first gather what we know. First, we know there are bandits lurking around going by the name of banished. They probably look like those robots that I got rid of so we should look out for them when we travel. Second, I noticed that the merchant wasn't trusting me at all, until you showed up and quickly took you for my…wife." Said the black hedgehog, making Blaze cast her sight down after his last sentence, since the very thought of it made her uneasy. Slightly bothered himself he continued nonetheless.

"We also know there are items called bonding amulets that are like some kind of pass for entering towns… What do you make of it?" He asked, making the fire feline look at him again, with serious look in her eyes.

"If I was to guess, I would say that their name implies some sort of sacred items… we should probably research more about them as soon as possible." Finished Blaze with a heavy sigh. She was glad they could talk like this, but there still was tension between them…and since they came to this world a lot of embarrassing situations happened both pleasant and unpleasant. If this continues she won't be able to look Shadow in the face without blushing or feeling bad at her behavior. Her emotions were really raging in recent days.

"What now?" She added after a while of silence, wondering if this was a good time to apologize for earlier.

"Looks like we should do what the merchant told us. First we should change our clothes…" Said Shadow cutting quickly his sentence, while realizing that they were together in a very cramped and unstable space. Looking at Blaze's face only confirmed that she thought of the same thing as he, so before the situation grew tense he added quickly.

"Uh… we'll do it later… should we check the wares? This guy named Gold told us that he keeps books somewhere…maybe with them we will be able to answer some of our questions." Concluded Shadow, changing the earlier topic quickly, while trying to surpass the blush coming to his face. Somehow, the earlier idea of changing their clothes together made him a little light in the head.

_I shouldn't feel like this, I wasn't designed to feel…embarrassment…_ He tried to reason within himself knowing well that his design had nothing to do with this situation and his current feelings.

"Yes, that would seem to be the best idea… the books I mean." Added the fire cat quickly, with heart still beating a little faster than it should, thankful to Shadow for changing the topic.

Getting up, both of them started to search through the wares, and since there wasn't much to look at, they quickly found what they were looking for.

"Okay…we have some cooking books, some romance novels…" _How can anyone read this mushy stuff? _"… some books for adults and something called the sacred tome, but it doesn't look like it's for sale…and whatever that is, it looks important." Said Blaze, while looking at all the contents they gathered, especially the last book.

"This sacred tome could be useful. Let's check it out for information…" Replied Shadow as both of them began to read the old dusty book, obviously belonging to the merchant.

_Be it known to all people living in the holy kingdom of Veleria, that those are the seven sacred rules that all must obey as commands our high lord Kirlan._

_First rule: Thou shall bond with thy mate at the age of fourteen to avoid becoming the demon thus receiving a set of bonding amulets as proof that they walk their road of life together for eternity._

_Second rule: All demons shall be killed and those banished are forbidden to enter the towns._

_Third rule: If thy bonding amulet will be lost, thou shall replace it._

_Fourth rule: Be it known to thou, that husband's wishes are for his wife to meet and not obeying shall be punished._

_Fifth rule: Be it also known to thou, that the husband is the provider and shall work and earn meanings to live._

_Sixth rule: As the husband's task is to earn money, the wife's task shall be keeping their house by cleaning and cooking. Forbidden is for them to dress in anything other than dresses that shall mark them as women. Any women with male behavior shall be banished._

_Seventh rule: Be it known that any yelling at each other wives or husbands shall get their vocal cords taken away from them, since quiet is a sacred thing._

All that was after those rules was text explaining exactly how they should be interpreted, but that wasn't important to either Shadow and Blaze. What was important however were their feelings that raged inside their hearts like a storm. At first all they could do was to blink…and blink one more time, totally disturbed by the things that they read. First to get her voice back was Blaze the Cat.

"That…certainly gives some answers…n-now what?" She asked but deep down knowing where all of this was going…and she didn't like it one bit.

Folding his arms on his chest Shadow the Hedgehog now deep in thought was however silent, probably trying to come with a good way to tell her of his decision, while trying hard to calm himself. As the fire princess was going to ask her question again, he snapped his red eyes open and looked straight at her with determined eyes, like he made the most difficult choice in his life.

_W-what's with the look? _Asked herself Blaze, as her thoughts ran through her head. Was it her, or the swaying of the cart increased?

"Going by what we read…we now know why those bonding amulets are so important, and why the merchant relaxed when he saw you with me." Started slowly Shadow, going deeper into unwanted territory. He didn't like where this conversation was going…but it was inevitable.

_It's for the sake of mission, nothing more. _He reasoned with his uneasy emotions, while his face showed embarrassment of the thing he was about to say.

"I-It looks like people of this world HAVE TO bond…or marry, or they will be killed, and looking at what we learned I see only one way out." He finished while looking Blaze square in her gold eyes as they grew bigger and bigger. If Blaze told herself that she couldn't get more embarrassed today…she was wrong.

"Y-you don't m-mean…" Started the fire princess, knowing what Shadow would propose next…she didn't like it , since there was no way she could do it… she was a warrior and was a VERY far from being a simple girl a housewife at the top of that. It was her weak point.

"I-I don't mean we need to marry for real Blaze…just pretend to be married would be enough." Replied Shadow as calmly as possible while trying to calm Blaze down seeing the deep red color painted all over her face. He was slightly afraid of how this situation would require him to get close to the fire princess…it would be closer than he would want to get to anyone. He was ageless and didn't even want to make close friends and here, they would have to pretend to be married and that would be VERY hard for him. The only thing he was thankful about was, that Blaze didn't behave like Amy, and probably wouldn't fall in love with him because of all this romantic stuff…but will she be able to pretend to be married to him? Or will she do it at all?

As heavy silence filled the swaying cart, both of the heroes were fighting with their own thoughts, especially Blaze. She analyzed everything that she would need to do, and didn't like the idea at all…especially one point of the sacred rules made her hate this plan but first she needed to know one thing.

"W-we are only pretending ,right? No f-feelings at all? I think I will manage somehow… especially if it is for my world, but there is one thing that I can't agree to." Replied the fire princess regaining her calm…She was sure if her fire powers weren't stolen, she would lose control of them and burn this cart.

"Of course we will pretend, but what you can't agree to?" Asked Shadow what could be more important to the royal guardian of sol emeralds than pretending to be married? He couldn't imagine it.

"I'm NOT wearing a dress." She said with displeasure painted all over her features. She could pretend to be married…it was for her world but dress was just too much, they were not functional in a fight, made her slower and…too girly.

"That is your problem with this plan?" Asked Shadow with his mouth agape, but on the closer inspection, he saw through Blaze…she was spouting nonsense because she was still embarrassed about this false marriage thing. Regaining his composure he added after a while,

"You are going to do this."

"No, I'm not" Replied stubbornly the princess while folding her hand on her chest, mirroring Shadow's position, pink cheeks slowly appearing.

"Ye…" As Shadow was about to tell her, he cut quickly. That would led them to another argument so he decided to try different approach.

"Fine. Then you wish to tell your people that you failed to save their world because you didn't put on a dress." He replied, while observing the fire feline face.

"What do you mean?" Asked Blaze a little dumbfounded, not getting what he was getting at.

"No dress, means no town. No town means no asking people. No asking people means that it will take longer to come back to our world. Weren't you in a rush?" Asked Shadow again seeing as Blaze grimaced uncomfortably. Both of them knew he was right and finally the fire princess gave in.

"Fine. You won, I will put on a dress."Said Blaze while pouting… and Shadow had to admit to himself, that it made her look somewhat…different in his eyes. He didn't understand what felt different but it was pleasant for him to see her this way.

_Maybe there is a way to make her understand my point of view. _They stayed like that for some time, and finally Blaze sighed, looking straight at Shadow with her gold eyes.

"Shadow?" She asked, trying to get his attention which seemed to be somewhere else.

"Hm?" Replied the hedgehog now looking at his companion.

"What is it Blaze?" He asked gently…the atmosphere changed…he could feel it.

"I…I want to apologize…for earlier." Replied Blaze trying very hard not to break the eye contact with black hedgehog, since it was a very serious matter for her.

"I mean…what happened at G.U.N. I didn't…I shouldn't have yelled at you all those unpleasant things, when I don't know anything about your past…" There she said it, hoping that this conversation won't explode like their earlier ones. She wasn't good at dealing with feelings of others.

"Did Amy tell you about it? My past I mean." Questioned Shadow while looking into those mesmerizing gold eyes.

"No…she didn't tell me anything…I guess…It is your decision…if you want to I mean." Said Blaze, finally casting her glance toward the blanket on the floor. She was embarrassed sitting here, in the swaying cart, showing her feeling in front of Shadow like this, but knew it had to be done, since she was the one who created tension between them in the first place.

"I left my past behind me, Blaze. I'm not mad at you and never was. Maybe a little at the beginning, but not after. You just reminded me of some unpleasant things. I understand that all you said was due to your worry about your world…I really can relate to this." Hearing those words, the fire princess felt her heart being lifted of one of two huge stones. Looking at him again, Blaze noticed that those usually emotionless eyes showed her not hatred like before, but compassion… understanding maybe? For the first time since they met each other, Blaze felt some sort of bond between them…like both of them had very hard past, which took away their happiness. In this moment she decided, that she doesn't actually need to know the details from his life, all she had to know was, that he was on her side while doing his best to help her save her world. She would probably be okay with this, but there was one more thing she needed to say.

"It's…reassuring to know that and also…s-sorry for slapping you." She said, now feeling the hot blood rushing to her cheeks again today as she blushed very deep shade of red. The memory of her doing that was really embarrassing for her.

"I deserved that one. I wanted to order you around instead of simply reassuring you, that all will be okay." Replied the dark hero with a chuckle, which made Blaze smile a little bit. She knew it was her fault that they were caught before Eggman base, but here he was trying to make her feel better by accepting the blame for her actions.

_Thank you, Shadow. _She added in her thoughts content with the current situation. They spent some time enjoying the calm atmosphere until Shadow decided there was one more thing they needed to do and was unavoidable. Hopefully now it wouldn't be as awkward.

"Uhm…we still need to do something about our clothes…" Said the black hedgehog quietly, making Blaze loose her content smile very quickly.

"Can't we just simply wait for the cart to stop and then I can change while you will go out?" Asked the fire princess with hope, but when Shadow started shaking his head, she knew that was not possible.

"It is impossible. If we are supposed to pretend to be married, so we shouldn't make this monkey suspicious of us by acting like this…I mean what husband or wife would be embarrassed of themselves getting changed? He might reconsider helping us then." Replied Shadow to that, while fighting with blood rushing to his cheeks.

Sighing heavily to herself, Blaze the Cat would never have thought that in her whole life she would say what she said next but there was no other way out of this situation. Saving her world required sacrifices and if this was the price, she would pay it. "F-fine…j-j-just t-t-t-turn ar-roud. A-and do-on't peek o-or I w-will k-kill you" She stuttered at nearly every word, making it hard for any other person not included in conversation to understand, but Shadow did understand…and slowly turned around, at the same time glad that she didn't see that his face as red as his highlights… Something told him, this will be a very long adventure.

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Replied the brown bear again, who turned out to be the village chief. The three of them were sitting in an empty house, which wasn't big or didn't look at all comfortable. There wasn't any furniture and the only source of light was a small blue crystal on the ground which made Rouge eyes go round.

"You say, that you came from other world, and are looking for your friends and a way back, right?"

"Yes mister Claw. And from what you told us about this world, it looks like we have to hurry in finding them." Replied Amy politely, while Rouge wore a displeased look on her face. The pink hedgehog was just too friendly and too open to others. She didn't believe they should go and spout to everyone that they came from another dimension, since it may do more harm than good but once Amy opened her mouth, there was no stopping her. _– At least the village chief believed us…or he seems to._

"I can't really help you with any of those…we banished have it hard because of the law that high lord Kirlan established, and we are not warriors to oppose him. We are simply a group of old people who lost their partners, youngsters that didn't want to marry or children who had nowhere to go." Said with a great sadness the old bear, while scratching his head.

"But how did it become like this? I mean, how could this kind of stupid law be enforced on people?" Asked Rouge, unable to comprehend the full story behind this world, while looking at the false bond amulet she received to hide in bigger towns if she even ventured into one. Of course Amy also had one but compared to Rouge she was overjoyed about the thought to be married even if none of them had husband.

"I can't be certain, but I will tell you all that I know. In short, the history says, that around fifty years ago, the kingdom was ruled by a kind king, and all people lived in prosperity…the dynasty at that time consisted of the old king, the queen and their two children. The older was daughter at the age of fourteen, and the other was a young prince, still an infant. At that time, the royal family was helped by a lone priest…no one believed in his god, or even wanted to listen to him but he seemed to be kind enough for the king to trust him often offering his wisdom…and that's where everything have gone wrong." The old bear furrowed his eyebrows and took a sip of some strange tea from the cup before him. The past was always painful to remember.

"The royal family was poisoned…and as far as I know, the daughter was a lone survivor, but all would be good if she could just claim the throne at the age of fourteen. The priest of course used the fear that arose in people because of uncertain future. He said it was all a divine punishment and that god told him of seven sacred rules. I won't be reciting them since I don't want to bore you, but it give him rights to marry the young princess. Using his authority and new sacred law, he cut her vocal cords and have become the high lord who goes by the name Kirlan."

"And people just went along with it?" Asked Rouge, trying very hard to understand how could anybody be this cruel and actually agree with a law like this. She wasn't exactly an angel herself, but evil like that sent shivers down even her spine.

"Yeah, what about the princess? She could communicate her wishes by writing them on paper couldn't she?" Asked Amy, with hope filed eyes. She hated stories like those. In her eyes, there should be a prince that would rescue the princess, but it seems like nothing of this sort happened to inhabitants of this world.

"She didn't live through the cutting ritual and I think it wasn't an accident. " Concluded the village chief looking sadly at the floor.

"All of the people who tried to fight back…they were called demons and killed. Those lucky few who escaped are living in small settlements and are called banished."

"I'm sorry…" Said Amy sympathetically but was stopped quickly by Rouge's hand. The older woman knew that those people were probably way past pitying themselves and didn't need random travelers to pity them.

"It is past now. Sorry, I shouldn't bother the two of you with this, when you have your own problems. As I said before, I don't know where your friends are or where the way to your home is…but I know of one place that may hold the answers." The strong brown eyes looked at two females as both of them, deep in thoughts agreed with the old bear that at present they can't do anything. Anxious they moved slightly forward to listen.

"There is an old maze on these swamps. It is said to have ancient oracle inside…there is a possibility that you will find your answers there. Tomorrow I will show you the way, but for now please rest. You are welcome here as is anyone who lost home. If you will need anything just ask Gala the Serpent and she will gladly help you." With that, the brown bear got up and exited, leaving both females to themselves. First one to break the silence was Amy.

"We can't leave these people like this. It wouldn't be fair to accept their help, doing nothing in return." She stated, while looking at her companion who only shook her head in resignation.

"And what do you propose we do? We can't fight in our current state. The only possible way to go is this maze that the bear guy spoke of." Tiredly replied Rouge, while trying to get more comfortable on the ground since there were no beds.

"I know but still…it's a sad story…" Replied the pink hedgehog casting her glace downwards. Being very compassionate she hated leaving others to their problems like this. It wasn't just in her eyes. Closing her own eyes the ivory beauty then said to her-

"You know...Sonic probably has his powers with him. I'm sure blue boy will make it right as always. Now sleep, we have to at least try to recover some of our energy." Exclaimed the white bat, drifting slowly to sleep, while hoping everything will be alright… the sad story got even to her and she too hated being unable to do anything in a situation like this.

_I must really be spending too much time around the good guys. _Smiling to herself she slowly drifted into silent sleep.

Amy was sitting alone for some more time in darkness looking through the window at the starry night. Listening to the wildlife of the swamps, she wondered if everyone was okay, since it looked like with this harsh law there was not even one safe place anywhere. She hoped Sonic would show up, and help them return home… Looking at Rouge she smiled to herself. She might be selfish but she actually cheered her up a little. Maybe the white bat wasn't so heartless after all. Deciding strongly, that tomorrow she will do her best, she laid on hard ground. It really was uncomfortable and wet from all this water.

* * *

**Here you go! Of course it will be continued...if people want me to xD**


	7. Chapter 6

**Okay, time for an update, so chapter 6 is here! Enjoy, rate and review... I really wonder if the characters are not too OOC with this one since they DO grow as this story progresses. If possible, I would welcome all constructive criticism that would let me improve! :)**

* * *

"Well…here we are folks, the city of Sandstorm!" Exclaimed the overjoyed merchant, while scanning the surroundings with his eyes, and soon he was joined by two familiar figures of black hedgehog and lilac cat, now casting curious glances around.

The city wasn't anything that any of them could have imagined. It was small and cramped, and on top of that the highest building would be only two stores high and even those could be counted on two Mobian hands. As the sun shone brightly on old stones, they noticed how old and dirty this place was…but that was expected, when the city was this close to the desert. Here and there, one could see couples walking with linked hands going together to stores, taverns and other places. Of course there were single persons, but they always had their amulets on them…the atmosphere felt very tense as if anytime something bad could happen.

"That's your stop. I hope you will find everything you need in this town." Said Gold the Monkey with forced smile, when both Shadow and Blaze climbed down the wooden cart they were riding for two days. It felt good to finally stand on their legs while on solid ground.

"Aren't you going to rest here a bit mister Gold?" Asked Blaze, looking at the optimistic, but obviously tired looking merchant, who only shook his head in dismissal. "Wish I could, but those wares need to be delivered and as they say…time's the money. I hope our paths will cross again, and wish you best of luck." He shouted as he ordered the strange animal to move his cart forward.

"Thank you again for those clothes…that was very kind of you." Added Blaze, but the merchant only saluted them with his hand. They were already over that conversation, when mister Gold told them _"Those clothes are not worth more than this life of mine that you saved. So take them."_

As both of them watched the cart grow smaller and smaller with each passing second, Shadow was the first to break the silence.

"We should get going. With sun this high we don't have enough time before nightfall and we still need to find some kind of jobs and a place to stay." He finished and slowly linked his arm with Blazes to avoid suspicion from other people, making the feline pink on her cheeks in the process.

"Are we really going to do this?" She asked him again in quiet voice, waiting for his confirmation…she didn't dislike the warm feeling growing in her stomach, she simply wasn't used to being this close to another person and especially male. She knew Shadow probably felt the same way as both of them obviously liked to have their personal space.

"We went over this. Without our speed we have no means to travel and I doubt every merchant will let us ride for free." Said the black hedgehog, as the cat only made a silent nod.

"Sorry it takes this long. I know how you count every second in this world." He added, seeing her furrowed eyebrows, trying to sound compassionate.

"It's okay. I understand what we need to do, and that what I want must wait…if it was mine decision, we wouldn't be even wearing those uncomfortable clothes." She added with a small forced smile looking at their new garments.

Shadow the Hedgehog attire was far from what he would choose. It consisted of sandals, simple beige pants and jacket with strange black swirling symbols…those weren't bad if not counting the last piece of his new wardrobe and that was an ugly blue poncho that reminded him of certain someone. Blaze attire was actually looking a bit better on her. It was a simple beige skirt with diamond pattern at the bottom, with slit on her right tight and a pair of sandals. She also wore matching, colored sleeveless top with a little too big décolletage neckline. Normally the clothes would be too revealing for her liking if not for the fact that people of this world wore ponchos, to avoid their skin being burnt from too much exposure to sun, so that meant she also got one, but hers was green colored.

"You have our baggage?" Asked Blaze and in response Shadow showed her the crudeleather backpack in his hand.

"Our old clothes, some water and food…some money. Everything is in here." Replied back the black hedgehog as he looked around the city. Seeing the building that he was looking for, he directed both of them towards it.

"Where are we going?" Inquired fire princess, while curiously looking around at the couples around, hoping to find some kind of clue that would help her improve their charade. She didn't knew anything about dating, having a boyfriend not to mention how a married couple should behave, so doing the best job she could, she stated gathering information.  
_  
No way I will be kissing Shadow! – _She thought, fighting a blush that crept on her face. Directing her eyes on another couple, she decided there must be more behaviors that wouldn't be this extreme _-…hmm…massage is a possibility_…_a snuggle wouldn't be so bad…-_ raced her thoughts as she saw a pair on stone bench.

_…NO!..._– She practically screamed In her head when they passed dark alley between two buildings. With cheeks red as tomato, she decided, that she saw enough for one day…or a whole week.

"If there is one good place to find a place to stay or a job, then it should be in a tavern" Replied Shadow to her earlier question as they neared the building made from sandstone. Looking at his companion, he noticed that she was quite red in face

"Are you okay?" he inquired with concern but Blaze looked in his eyes and replied quickly

"Yes, it's just the sun. Let's just go into this tavern, and I will cool down a little there" said the fire princess trying her best to remain calm, but her heartbeat just couldn't slow down.

* * *

The hot wastelands didn't housed much life in recent years. Day after day it was the usual routine, with wind blowing and little to no rain falling from the sky. Today however It was different as two silhouettes made their way through the empty and cracked plains. They rarely stopped or talked with each other, only their goal was important and that was to head forward, into direction of old settlement that they got information about.

"How much farther do you think it will be?" Asked the red echidna, guardian of master emerald and champion of angel island, while his heavy steps were making the dry soil go up.

"According to that traveler not much farther up west…speaking of him, did you really had to scare him like that?" Replied the twin tailed fox, while not turning his eyes from the sun position.

"It wasn't my fault he kept babbling about demons while pointing at us. I was polite you know?" Said Knuckles the echidna with a chuckle, while remembering how fast the stranger they met ran for his very life. He wasn't a thug and didn't enjoy it…but that guy really was annoying and called him a lot of names while not giving much answers.

"Politely asking him while holding him up high by his poncho?" Asked Tails with disbelief painted all over his face.

"Hey, at least we got the poncho. It's good protection from this sun." Defended the guardian, to which the twin tailed fox only shook his head. He knew there was no arguing with Knuckles and his point of view. Still, he had to admit that thanks to this poncho they got, they made nice headgear that protected them from sunrays. Looking ahead, he wondered where everyone else was. For them, it had been one day, and there still wasn't sight of anything.

"We should keep moving. If what that strange guy said about blue demon, while running away, then Sonic should be somewhere around this area. We really need to get more information about this dimension. If my theory Is correc…"

"Then let's not waste time by talking, and let's keep walking. Sooner or later we will find something." Said Knuckles the Echidna, cutting the discussion short, as he quickened their march. Tails only sighed to himself, wondering why of all people he just had to end up with hot headed guardian. It wasn't bad, he respected him, but sometimes he used too much strength and not wits. Still, he wasn't one to complain, because without their powers he was pretty much defenseless.

_I really hope we will quickly find Sonic…out time is really running out_ – He thought to himself, while catching up to red echidna.

* * *

As they entered the old building from sandstone, they welcomed the cool shade that was inside, with a content sigh. The place wasn't anything big or luxurious as it only had seven small wooden tables, chairs that looked very uncomfortable and a dusty counter. Since it was still middle of the day, the usual guests weren't present, and right now only one couple ate some soup and lone bartender was cleaning his stone mugs with cloth.

As Blaze was about to go towards the counter to ask her questions, she found it surprising that Shadow lead her towards one of the tables and helped her sit down in a very gentlemanly way. As he sat across her, he found that she wore puzzled expression on her face. The fire cat moved slightly forward, wanting to ask her companion, why didn't they simply went to the bartender to gather info, but the black hedgehog, sensing what she wanted to do said quickly.

"Its colder in here...d-dear. Rest a bit and I will ask the bartender if he has any cold water." Said Shadow to Blaze as he made his way towards the bartender. She noticed that while he had good plan to show that they are together, he still stuttered slightly when addressing her. She would later tell him, since they need their disguise to be as close to perfection as possible.

_It must be difficult to him, just as it is for me –_ She thought, trying to simulate the headache and tiredness, so the nearby couple or bartender wouldn't be suspicious of them. She found it oddly amusing that in her past, she usually tried to show others that she was strong and now she needed to show that she was weak. With the corner of her eye, she looked at the exchange between her… husband and the tavern owner, but the loud sounds from the street made her unable to hear what they were talking about. After a while, Shadow came back and she noticed that he now carried a stone mug with something to drink. It wasn't water, she was sure of it…some kind of juice maybe?

"What is this?" Asked Blaze as the ultimate life form set the mug before her.

"It's milk" He said without emotion, while sitting on his chair. He appeared to be deep in thoughts about something, but Blaze wasn't curious about what he was thinking…she was bothered by another thing… _- why milk of all things?_

"Shadow…just because I am a cat It doesn't mean I love milk." She added, all the time looking at the white substance in the mug before her, as if it was some unknown object.

"You don't like it?" Asked the hedgehog, discreetly looking around, slightly concerned, that this exchange could made those around them suspicious. After all…what husband doesn't know his wife tastes?

"I didn't said that, it's just… I don't remember the last time I tasted it." She replied, and after a while she added in a whisper

"You know, having a lot of duties…being a guardian, a warrior, a princess…it doesn't leave much space for thinking about meals. You usually eat whatever there is." As She said that, Shadow was taken-aback to learn this about her. He had to admit, he imagined her to at least eat like royalty, but it seemed she still was a complete mystery to him…or maybe he shouldn't look at her like any stereotypical princess, but like a normal girl with heavy duty on her shoulders. Nodding his head, he watched her, as she started to slowly taste her milk with her tongue, and then slowly taking bigger portions  
_  
it seems she likes it. Good. When we get some time alone I need to get to know her better..why it's getting hotter in here? Damn desert._ – He thought to himself, while observing his companion. Being assured that he hit right on the mark with her taste, Shadow decided it was time to tell Blaze what he learned from the bartender.

"I have good news. I found a job AND a place to stay for us, but there are also some bad news…" He started in low voice, so no-one would be able to hear them but loud enough to get the attention of fire princes, who apparently lost herself in the taste of milk. Setting the stone mug down, she looked Shadow square in the eyes, waiting for him to continue.

"In this city lives a wealthy merchant that made his money by hiring people to his farms. He offers them a place to stay at them, pays them, and all they have to do is to keep them in good condition." Said Shadow, looking very serious about this…

_He is always looks so serious…wonder if it has to do something about his mysterious past._ – Thought Blaze before she asked her question.

"It looks like a good deal…what are the bad news?" She asked him. It was too good to be true in her opinion and she learned long ago not to trust in good deals like those.

"There are three. First is, that one farm is in the middle of buildings, that farmers live in…each family gets their own part of the field, so we will be watched constantly. That means we have to be cautious about our every move at all times." As he said that, his face showed displeasure for a moment and no wonder, since he looked forward to finally catch some breath in his own personal space.

"That's understandable, but it could also be good news." Replied the fire princess after giving it more thoughts which made Shadow cast a curious look at her.

"I mean. If we have to pretend all the time, then it would be easier for us to perfect this disguise. I already found that we made some mistakes here and there." Concluded the cat, to which Shadow silently agreed, glad that she looked after details. It seemed that she was more used to contacts with others than him. Continuing with the bad news, he said next.

"The second bad thing is that I will have to work on the fields. While I can somehow manage it in theory, in practice I don't know anything about keeping land. The third and last is…this deal is too good to be true. We should be more wary of this merchant." Finished the dark hero, while pondering about their next course of action, but before he was able to reach any conclusion, Blaze interrupted him, while seriously looking in his ruby eyes.

"How long do we need to stay in there?" Said the fire feline trying to sound as calmly as possible but one look from Shadow told her that he caught how impatient she still felt at heart.

"Hopefully not much. I'll say about two weeks…one if we try really hard to save the money. Don't worry Blaze I will be working extra so it should be quicker." Replied the hedgehog. He hoped secretly that Blaze would somehow calm down with his response, but what she said next surprised him a little…and he was not easily surprised.

"Shadow. I know you really want to help me and I do appreciate that, but I can't let you push yourself like that for my sake. If somebody has to work extra I should be the one, not you." Stated politely Blaze the Cat while looking seriously at him. At this moment Shadow saw her differently. Even thought she acts stubborn and very serious most of the time, she was definitely a ruler that cared for others, a compassionate one and he was glad that she wasn't going to made them rush for the time being. He finally felt that he found some way to speak with her normally and not argue.

"I understand. How do you feel? It seems that you cooled a little" Said the black hero changing the subject trying to act like a husband would, since it would be suspicious if they whispered all the time between each other.

"It's better in here. It's strange you know? Usually my fire powers let me withstand hot or cold temperatures…it feels odd to feel this intense heat from sun." Replied princess sill whispering, with small frown on her lips.

"You should be glad, that your fur isn't black like mine." Chuckled Shadow to her response, louder. Apparently she still didn't get what he was planning.

_It's so rare to see him chuckle…I wonder if he ever smiles or laughs –_thought Blaze to herself, as she looked through the window on busy streets.

"Speaking of which…how do YOU withstand this heat?" she said next with quizzical look in her amber eyes. Was he pretending all the time to be okay or there was some kind of secret to it?

_ Good…seems she caught on to plan…or did she? – _Though black hedgehog to himself, while looking at now empty stone mug. He didn't expect the feline to be this hungry and empty it right away. Maybe she just liked milk.

"I'm different from others." Replied Shadow mysteriously to that, which caught Blaze attention and made her look at him with curious eyes, while moving closer to him.

"How so?" Asked the fire princess, wanting to know more…this was a perfect opportunity to know more about Shadow, and she already knew how rare those moments were. Just as he was about to respond a small uneasiness in the back of his mind told him, that their current situation is not safe. Looking around them, just in time Shadow saw that the couple, that was eating the soup when they entered the tavern, was now looking at them suspiciously, so instead of continuing this pleasant exchange with Blaze he added quickly.

"It's getting late sweetheart and we should really be on our way, don't worry I'll tell you everything when we get back home, okay?" Said the black hedgehog quickly, while standing up. Noticing his odd behavior, Blaze was quick to caught on to the signal that they set when they still were in merchant cart. If something made him say _"sweetheart" _to her like this that meant they were in some kind of danger of being found out. Collecting herself, she went after his example, stood up and was about to say _"Okay, then let's go back right away, love."_ Like planned, but those words just wouldn't leave her lips, especially the last one. It didn't feel right to say this word while not meaning it. Panicking that their cover might get blown and acting on impulse she decided that now was the time to made use of her observations of other couples, when they were still outside.

"Okay." She said quietly and hugged Shadow, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck, trying very hard for it to be as natural as possible. This caught Shadow slightly off guard as this wasn't their plan but he wasn't to going to blow their cover and hugged her back noticing at the same time, how thin she actually was. It was new feeling for him to feel someone else this close…he enjoyed this and that made him curious. This was some kind of new feeling for him. Blaze was feeling similar as she could feel blood rushing to her head and heart beating in her chest twice as fast. They stayed like this for five seconds only, but for both of them it felt like It was way longer. When they finally parted, they looked in each other eyes but no words escaped either lips, as both of them understood that it was all an act…but was it really? As slight doubt was being born in their hearts, Shadow linked his arm with Blaze's and they silently exited the tavern, noticing that the couple that was suspicious of them apparently decided that there was nothing out of place… all seemed good.

When they were out of the building, Shadow was the first to speak.

"It was very bold of you…but seems that it worked better than in our plan. Good job princess." Said Shadow, while collecting himself from her action, not bothering to ask why she didn't simply replied as planned. It was second time that he was surprised today.

"It was this couple wasn't it? We should really look what we do or how we speak to each other…the eyes and ears seem to be everywhere" Replied Blaze with calm voice, trying to sound as emotionless as possible. Strange feeling or not, she had other, more important things to do. And both of them knew it. There was just one more thing that she needed to say to Shadow.

"And one more thing." Started Blaze as she stopped them in the middle of the street.

"Yes?" Asked Shadow the fire princess, expecting her to say something along the lines that what happened before was just an act. He was mistaken.

"I believe, that when we first met in my world I told you not to call me princess…just Blaze." Said Blaze, looking in his ruby eyes. She was going to say it before, noticing as he called her that from time to time, but there wasn't any good occasion.

"I apologize…Blaze, it's become a habit of mine to speak using ranks and titles. Speaking of addressing each other, we really should come up with more ways of it, to act in more marriage-like manner" Replied the black hero, to which the lilac cat agreed with short nod. Apparently the topic of Blaze hugging him was dropped and that was good in Shadow eyes, as he couldn't explain what actually happened and what exactly he felt back there. He would ponder about it later.

"Well…since we are already on the street, let's find out more about that job on the farm." He added after a while and both of them made their way through the city of Sandstorm.

* * *

A lone, dark obelisk, with the size of over twenty-three meters high was standing strong against anything that nature threw at it. As the sun changed color to orange and was setting on the horizon, both Knuckles and Tails saw this mighty structure in the distance and decided that it was worth checking it out. Little did they know, that it wasn't just a simple monument of stone.

"What do you make of it Tails?" Asked the red echidna, while looking curiously at engraved symbols. He didn't recognized any of those and he being able to read ancient texts was included in his training as a guardian.

"It's hard to decode it without more info. Reading ancient obelisks isn't exactly mine field." Replied the twin tailed fox to this, while looking at symbol of something that resembled a chaos emerald. He wondered how different was this dimension from theirs. If there were chaos emeralds in this world, then it maybe they had a way to return home.

"It's strange." Suddenly exclaimed Knuckles, which made Tails cast a curious look at him.

"What's strange?"

"I can sense some kind of power emanating from it. It's…disturbing." Replied the champion of angel island, while slowly putting his hand on cold stone surface. He could feel it, swirling inside the stone, like a bird trapped in a cage that wants to go out. Just as he was going to add more, suddenly both him and his brilliant companion heard a loud voice echoing from the stone.

"Go away…" Said the ghostly and ominous voice, which made both heroes stand straight in their fighting stances, prepared for anything.

"You don't belong here…leave…" Continued voices louder and louder with each word, as dark cloud started seeping from stone surface, while coming closer and closer to both mobians.

"I think we should go…" Replied Tails, to which the red echidna agreed with short nod. Just as they were going to fall back, the swirling black smoke enveloped both of them, making them unable to move, while choking them... as both of their eyes grew bigger and bigger, a lone figure observed what was happening with curious green eyes…

* * *

"Come on Shadow, it wasn't so bad" Said the fire feline while looking with sympathy at her brooding companion. They had just finished their talk with Beef the Swine, the wealthiest merchant in this city and finalized their contract, but it seemed Shadow still wasn't happy about all of this.

"It could be worse" She added with apologetic smile, while trying to comfort Shadow, since mere minutes ago, the situation was as awkward as it could get, and when she now looked at it as a thing of the past it was definitely the embarrassing situation number one. Apparently the hedgehog wasn't at all calmed by her tone and just frowned more.

"Need I remind you how YOU reacted to his proposition?" He asked, while eyeing his "_wife" _with the corner of his eye, which made her frown just like him.

"No" Replied Blaze shortly, remembering how all of their talk went which made her red on cheeks…

One hour ago - Blaze P.O.V

_Why must those streets be so busy! - I thought while trying very hard walking alongside Shadow. It wasn't easy as he quickly was making his way through the crowd and while people seemed to just go out of his way in fear to made him room, they usually ended up blocking me. I hoped that it wasn't much further, and just as I was thinking that Shadow stopped suddenly._

_ "It should be here." I heard him say quietly, as I looked at the building we were supposed to enter. It wasn't anything fancy, and reminded me of the tavern we exited some time ago. Old sandstone was cracked here and there and no ornaments were engraved. The only difference was a big material sign that showed a big gold swine with apple. Honestly, to me it looked more like butcher shop or restaurant._

_ "Let's enter, but I don't have good feeling about this place." I replied, as we made our way through the entrance. I must admit, that inside was more fancy looking. Carpets were on floors and furnishing was definitely of higher quality but still I saw better. I noticed lone, young receptionist without bond amulet eyeing us, especially Shadow. Why was she eyeing him like hungry animal? While I admit he is good looking, there really was no need for her to act like this so openly. It really annoyed me on the inside since she obviously saw he was supposed to be married. As we made our way towards the counter I heard Shadow in his low voice._

_ "My name is Shadow the Hedgehog, husband of Blaze the Cat. We are here to speak with mister Beef about job on the farm" Said Shadow making the same gesture that Gold the Monkey did when introducing himself. Looking at the face of the girl I noticed how it changed from dreamy expression into one of annoyance and then into one of slight concern…I didn't took it for good sign. Something was off and the uneasy feeling in my stomach only increased._

_ "You must be desperate, but I assume you know what you are doing. It's up the stairs. You may just come in, since there is no-one waiting for visit." Replied the girl, while trying very hard to not look us into eyes. Why was she so nervous? I really could feel dark clouds on the horizon._

_ "Shadow…" I tried to communicate this to my friend but he didn't reply, instead he just led me to stairs and we made our way up. I really hoped he knew what he was doing. I should probably trust him, since nothing bad came out of it before._

_ "Don't worry, just leave everything to me and it will all be good. Besides I'm supposed to be the provider of means to life, so all you need to do is sit there quietly, and reply only when asked about anything." " He said with a reassuring confidence. When he did so, I thought nothing could go wrong…how wrong I was…_

Present time - Normal P.O.V.

"As I remember I tried to warn you, didn't I?" Said Blaze, while looking Shadow square in the eye with look of regained confidence. That's what he got for not listening to her.

"I know… but how was I supposed to predict that it will end up this way?" He replied while finding his feet more interesting. Blaze had to admit it was cute in some way for him to act like this. Looking ahead she saw, that they were nearing the farms. Finally, she will be able to rest in home, with no need to pretend. Walking with linked hands all the time really was tiring her out, but she grew used to it.

One hour ago - Shadow P.O.V.

_As we made our way up the stairs I noticed that something was off with this whole situation. Being on guard of course I wasn't worried, if this merchant will try to propose any deal that wouldn't be good for us, I was sure that we will be able to negotiate a good contract. What slightly worried me was the behavior of the receptionist. Why did she looked with this much concern at us?_

_ "Don't worry, just leave everything to me and it will all be good. Besides I'm supposed to be the provider of means to life, so all you need to do is sit there quietly__, and reply only when asked about anything._" I said to Blaze, to reassure her, seeing the look in her golden eyes. As we entered the upper floor I noticed how fancy it looked with furniture made of good wood, gold and crystal ornamentation here and there. All about this room screamed "money". In the center of this hall, behind a desk sat big fat guy, who I assumed to be the person we were supposed to speak to.

_ "Ah! Customers! Please do sit. You here to buy something or for work?" Said the fat swine with broad smile. He wasn't repulsive…just…his presence made me nervous. As we made our way towards the desk and sat on chairs before it I decided to start conversation. After quickly introducing ourselves, we proceeded with main reason of our visit._

_ "Yes Mr. Beef, both me and mine wife heard about the work offer and decided that the deal was generous enough. We would like to hear the details and hopefully sign a contract." I said, while silently hoping that it wouldn't take too much time._

_ "Ah! Then let me tell you everything you need to know. As you probably heard I am the wealthiest merchant in this city… you can even go as far to say, that this city belongs to me!" Said the merchant with broad an lecherous smile which made Blaze move slightly closer to me. Drinking, what I assumed to be water from golden cup, the Swine continued._

_ "Aaah! I offer people work at farms, shops and many other workplaces. In exchange they get roof over their head, money and help me develop my city, while I get goods to sell. A splendid plan wouldn't you agree?" Asked Mr. Beef while moving closer to both of us. His smell wasn't pleasant at all._

_ "It's a very good Idea." I complimented, while trying very hard not to breathe. With relief I welcomed the merchant leaning on the back of his chair._

_ "Aaaaahhh! Then let me tell you about the contract. It goes like this. You agree to work each day on my farm, and at the end of each week you get paid one hundred kirlans. Simple enough right? Next is the part about helping this city grow bigger." In this part I noticed that the Swine got even bigger smile than before, while looking at both me and Blaze. I could feel that now we would probably hear something unpleasant. Bracing myself for any bad news I steeled my nerves…but nothing could prepare me for what I heard next._

_ "Ah! Since the city needs to grow, as per contract you two will agree to have children in one year. Of course the money you get paid will grow with it by fifty kirlans a week." Finished the Swine with content smile, as I nearly choked on my next words. What in mobius was this guy suggesting?! Looking at Blaze I noticed how red she was on her face, probably just as red as me and it was then, that I decided to shove this "Ah!" down this guys throat. Just as I was about to get up with clenched fists, I felt Blazes hand tugging me down, while she embarrassedly looked at the floor which seemed to interest her more than current conversation. Catching a deep breath and deciding to negotiate I sat down and tried to reason with this mad idea._

_ "Mister Beef, while I agree with your idea of growing city, I don't think me and my wife are mentally prepared to have children…" I started but could already see this guy shaking his head in dismissal._

_ "Aahh! Nonsense! You two made a very lovely couple. I'm sure for the two of you it wouldn't be hard. You must absolutely promise me that in one year I will see small kids running and laughing around the city!" Said the merchant and by this time I noticed there really was no way around this…but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. We only needed to work for two weeks and then run out of this city, so this last part of contract, while embarrassing, wasn't actually of any concern to us. Looking at Blaze with my eyes, I noticed she probably thought of the same idea, as the crimson blush slowly vanished from her face._

_ "Okay mister Beef, but we want to be paid one hundred and fifty kirlans each week and fifty extra for every child." I replied smugly to which the merchant started to think deeply._

_ "Ah…how can I pay you more than other farmers?" He asked troubled, but I already saw through him and had a good argument to it._

_ "You said we made a nice couple. So that means our kids will add a lot of live to you city. Isn't it worth fifty kirlans more?" Seeing as he his face slowly turned to a smile, he looked at us as if estimating if it would be worth the money. After a while he sighed and said the words I wished to hear._

_ "Ah! Okay Mr. Shadow you drive a hard bargain but you got this contract. Just promise me like man to man that you two will really have children in future." Said the fat Swine, to which I looked with frown on my face. I always took promises as something very important and wouldn't never break them…but if this was for the sake of our mission, then I suppose I have to swallow this one lie._

_ "Okay Mr. Beef. I promise." Swallowing my pride, I replied through gritted teeth, earning a shocked stare from my ally, and a very eager approval from the fat merchant._

_ "AH! Splendid! Let me just fetch the papers and I will explain where the farm is situated…"_

Present time - Normal P.O.V.

"It looks like we are nearing our destination." Said Blaze making Shadow snap out of his thoughts. True enough, the farms were in their field of view. Sighing heavily the black hedgehog added after a while.

"Let's just go in there. It really was a tiring day and I have to work tomorrow. Hopefully I can manage it." The field weren't big, and he could clearly see that they were in parts. Probably each family managed their own.

"It will be okay, don't worry. I just hope we won't be sacrificing more of our pride in this world." Replied the fire princess as they stood before their new home. From outside it wasn't anything fancy, just a simple sandstone construction with doors and window that appeared to be from kitchen.

"You ready to do this?" Asked the dark hero, looking at his companion in all seriousness, with displeasure painted all over his face. He wouldn't be surprised if this home turned out to crumble just as they enter, since time after time everything seems to be not in their favor.

"Just lighten up a little, it's not so bad" Said Blaze trying to cheer them both up as she pushed the door open. As both of them entered the building they noticed how cold it was in here, which they took for good sign. It wasn't anything fancy, it had a room with table and four chairs in the center, with kitchen being part of it. Speaking of kitchen it also consisted just of table to prepare meals, a shelf and a fireplace. Both of them noticed that there was some food on the table with a note. Looking at it, Shadow saw that the note said "Best of luck from Beef the Swine".

_How kind –_ Thought Shadow sarcastically, but slightly glad they had something to eat. From this room there were also two more doors leading to other rooms.

"Doesn't look bad" Admitted Shadow out loud, inspecting this place. It was dirty, cramped and could use some work but in some way it could have been worse. Making their way towards the first door they opened it and recognized it as the bathroom…well…bathroom was probably too big of a word, since it was a room with big wooden bowl and a place for towels.

"Don't suppose we will enjoy long baths" Shadow heard silent whisper from Blaze and agreed with a short nod. Too bad, since he was looking forward to finally being able to clean himself. Being ultimate life form didn't mean he didn't need to take baths. Closing the bathroom doors, they made their way toward the last room and not wasting any time they opened it.

"It's a bedroom" Said Shadow looking around with bored look. The whole room fit with the rest, since all it got was old double bed, two nightstands and a wardrobe. There was also a carpet on the floor, but it looked like they will probably throw it out.

"What do you make of our situation?" Inquired Shadow but was met with silence. Looking at Blaze, he noticed that her eyes looked at the bed with troubled expression.

"Only one…" He heard her whisper, but not being able to understand what she meant, he moved closer and asked her

"Only one what?"

"The bed..." Replied the fire feline red in face, making Shadow realize just what she meant. At the same time he remembered their contract with Beef the Swine. Looking away from the fire princess, while trying to hide blush on his cheeks as red as his highlights he mumbled quietly whether to himself or to Blaze.

"J-just bear with it…I-il bring water for bath, I think I saw well nearby, start a fire in kitchen." With that the embarrassed dark hero speed out of the building. He didn't knew what was happening to him, he felt his heart pound. He disliked the feeling, it was alien to him and he couldn't focus on task at hand. He will need to think about it later.

* * *

It was cold, the shadows swirling around their bodies. They could feel them, how their icy hands enveloped their throats, making them unable to move. It seemed to be the end of their adventure, but then they heard a strange sound. A bell? Looking through the black smoke, they could see a single silhouette nearing them as the darkness began dissipating. Falling on their knees, while catching their breath, they looked up at the unfamiliar figure that stood before them. The strange was a white colored old cat with moustache similar to that of Eggman, with sharp looking green eyes. He was wearing a long brown robe and was supporting himself on a wooden stick with bell at the top.

"W-who are you?" Asked Tails but the stranger only motioned with his hand for them to follow him, and slowly began walking away. Exchanging glances with Knuckles, they both decided it's probably a good idea to follow the man instead of staying close to the obelisk that tried to kill them a mere seconds ago. Slowly getting up they began to walk after the stranger, hoping that he will at least lead them somewhere safe. There was some kind of special presence to him, and they just couldn't think why they were going after him…they just did it naturally feeling it needed to be done…

* * *

**As always...it will be continued :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Aaaannnddd...CHAPTER 7! Wohoo...its coming quick :) Enjoy, Rate and Review :D Again many thanks to everyone that is helping me out with it :)**

* * *

In the small city of Sandstom, there was once a small farm complex with ten houses from sandstone around it. The buildings, while not fancy or sturdy looking had a special magical charm to them and the quiet life in peaceful city was something few could enjoy. No fighting, no crying after losing someone to the cruelty of war, only honest work with honest pay for it. As the sunrays of morning sun started to bathe the dry stone with their warm light in one of those houses there was one married couple unlike any others.

Shadow the Hedgehog rarely could enjoy nights without nightmares from his harsh past. It was his usual routine to get awake in the middle of the night while panting heavily, with the name of his deceased friend on his lips. Today, however was different since he slept calmly until the first rays reached his ruby eyes hidden behind black eyelids. Slowly awakening from his slumber he yawned and became more aware of his surroundings as time passed. Now, looking at the cracked ceiling, he wished that he was back in his dreams, even if he wasn't able to tell what he was dreaming about.

_First morning in this house…I wonder how many more there will be._ – He thought to himself, as he prepared himself to get up. He needed to work on the farm or their cover would be blown, since the situation they were in was very delicate. Just as he was about to rise, he felt extra weight on his right arm. Looking slightly puzzled, what could the excessive weight be, he found out it was lilac in color and breathing quietly, with content smile painted on lips. While surprising, he didn't overreact, since it wasn't his thing to act like this…even If he was shocked to wake up beside HER. As he looked intently at the sleeping figure of none other than Blaze the Cat, he noticed that it wasn't at all unpleasant to wake up like this, and wondered if it was because of her that he didn't had any nightmares. Dismissing the thought as ridiculous he nearly laughed at himself, since it was something that pink hedgehog would think of.

_If only she saw herself now._ – His thoughts ran through his head, while remembering how things looked yesterday, just before they went to sleep.

Night before - Shadow P.O.V.

_We were staring at the unstable bed, now both clean after our respective baths and after eating whatever we got from Mr. Beef the Swine._

_ "You sleep on the couch" Stated my fire companion, while eyeing me with serious stare. It was one of those looks when she didn't took no for the answer, but what could I do? There really was no way around this situation._

_ "We don't have couch" I replied calmly, preparing for yet another argument with her._

_ "Then on the floor" She continued stubbornly, folding her arms over her chest. Without our ponchos I must admit, her blouse was really to revealing. Rouge probably wouldn't mind this attire, but I doubt the fire princess felt good in it._

_ "Wouldn't that be suspicious if one of our neighbors saw us like this?" I said, pointing at the window that had let anyone working on the field, look inside our bedroom. I would need to do something about this later, maybe some cloth would do._

_ "Fine, the I will sleep on the floor" Stated the lilac furred cat, totally missing my point, which she probably did on purpose. Sighing to myself I decided to try different approach. She could be a handful sometimes._

_ "What are you afraid of?" I asked, looking her straight in the eyes. I must admit, their shining in darkness was mesmerizing. Just as expected her muzzle turned pink and she cast her eyes downward while embarrassed. I don't know what she was thinking in that head of hers, but I really didn't plan on doing anything to her while she slept._

_ "Listen Blaze. We both know there is no way around this. Besides we will be only resting in the same bed and we are doing this for your world. What more do I have to say to you to accept my point of view?" I asked tiredly, while also slightly annoyed. Whatever the cat thought I really wasn't going to do anything and by now, she could show a little trust. Putting down her ears she appeared to be deep in thought, but after a while sighed and said in quiet voice, which even I had a little trouble to hear._

_ "I know Shadow. It's just…after recent embarrassing moments between us, after what that Swine merchant told us, I just feel uneasy at my heart. By logic I do understand there is no special meaning behind our actions, but I have never been this close to anyone before...it's alien to me, and I admit I fear it. I never even thought of real marriage because I consider myself a warrior and my duty always comes first… I know that one doesn't exclude the other, there are no illusions like that before my eyes but I am not a wife material and never wanted to be. I don't suppose you can understand it, but it's how I feel. All this lying to everyone we meet…it's not right. I don't want to get closer to you like this, if it means lying more and more. I just wanted to have some room to breathe that's all and yet we have to pretend even when we sleep. I know it's selfish but I'm tired of this. It just might be too much for me. Foes that threaten my world I can fight…but I don't know how to deal with current situations and it makes me feel unsecure." Replied the fire princess, for the first time showing me part of her heart like this and admitting her weakness. I knew already that she always hid her feelings just as I did and shouldered heavy duty by herself alone, so I really could appreciate this special moment between us. As she poured out her feelings and fears I decided to listen for now. Things like that shouldn't be interrupted and if I did anything wrong the precious bond between us could break, making future life harder._

_ "I apologize…I shouldn't talk about all those things. Let's just go to sleep, tomorrow will be a very hard day for both of us." She added after a while with more polite tone, turning her back to me. She was again hiding her emotions, closing herself in a tight shell. Closing my eyes and gathering thoughts I decided this was the right moment for me to speak._

_ "I understand you." I began in quiet voice to not break the special atmosphere of this intimate moment between us. _

_ "I usually keep to myself like you do around others. Truthfully, those situations get to me just like they got to you, but it's how everything must be for the sake of things more important than you or me. You are not alone because with everything you said I really feel the same way." As I was speaking I noticed she turned her head to me, now looking at me puzzled, eyes sparkling with curiosity…or did I saw tears? I couldn't see in the darkness clearly, but I knew that she probably didn't thought that I would understand her, but I really did. Often had I wanted for someone to just tell me they know what pain and fears I feel, but no person like that ever appeared before me. In this night I gave Blaze the thing that I always yearned for. It wasn't pity, who would want that? It wasn't false sympathy that others show either. Just someone that truly understands is enough…_

_ "You have you world, that you love, that is precious to you and holds all your precious memories and friends. I don't know what will happen to us in this dimension or how many lies we will have to tell, but I will do everything I can to help you. I promise, but just bear with it. Please." I said, while looking straight into her amber eyes with determination that rarely showed on my face. I was surprised at myself, because I rarely want out of my way to help others this much, not to mention speak so openly about feelings. There was just something about Blaze that reminded me of myself…or maybe I just didn't want the history to repeat itself if she had lost her world._

_ As the silence enveloped the room we were in, we stared at each other, not one of us wanting to break this magical moment. After a while Blaze sighed, as she probably came to terms with her complicated feelings…or at least shoved them aside for the time being._

_ "Thank you Shadow…it's rare that I can talk to somebody that understands me. You are someone I would gladly call a friend…" I heard her say and then, with ears standing now up, she replied with more cheerful tone. "I'm feeling better now, thanks to you, but I doubt if it will be of much help if we won't get a good rest. Take the right side of the bed, while I will take the left one. That should be enough…and don't worry, I will also bear with everything to same my world, even the lies and embarrassments." I heard her say, as she laid herself on soft mattress, while facing the wall. Content with myself I just did what she said, and went over to my side of our bed and slowly drifted to sleep, as tiredness from this harsh day overtook me. When losing conscious I think I could hear Blaze mumble something to me, but I maybe it was only my imagination…_

Normal P.O.V.

Chuckling to himself, Shadow the Hedgehog, slowly got up, while trying very hard not to wake up the fire princess. He already knew how she could act when surprised, as he reminded himself of the feeling of her heel against his chest, when they first arrived to this dimension. Managing to successfully free himself, he decided it was now time for him to work on their part of farm. Noticing his neighbors going out of their own houses, he decided it would be best to just follow their example, so without further ado he left for work unaware of blushing feline that woke up when he was struggling to disentangle from her.

_I knew it would end up like this…_ She thought to herself, not at all surprised at her own behavior. She did the same thing once when sleeping with Marine on her boat, and knowing that she had a habit of snuggling to others while asleep, she really didn't want to sleep in the same bed as Shadow because of this. Since she was a warrior she was a light sleeper so waking when someone else moves nearby was next habit of hers. She wasn't stupid to not be able to add two plus two, so she knew beforehand her morning could look like this.

_It's good that he didn't realize I was not asleep…Now I must somehow bear with this for two weeks at most, but it's for my world so I think Shadow would forgive me a small lie like this._ She thought to herself, not wanting to admit that today was one of the most refreshing nights of her life, free of nightmares that usually haunted her every dream.

* * *

Running around at the speed of sound was none other Sonic the Hedgehog. He had been doing so for some time, searching for his lost friends that were somewhere in this dimension. It had now been two days since Eggmans machine sent them here, and he already had his hands full of work, while visiting different places, from deserts to grass plains. When he first came to this world he fell on big pile of desert sand and quickly found himself helping some natives who were threatened by robots in black robes. He wasn't going to rush like always, but this whole situation reminded him too much of home. In his eyes robots threatening others means they needed to be smashed and so he did what was right. From the grateful villagers, he quickly learned about this world, or at least he thought he did. Right now, his sense of justice told him that the banished were needing his help so he took the best course of action he could and that was to travel around, help the banished and ask about his friends. So far he didn't had any luck in finding them.

_Oh man…if this continues I will just run up to this Kirlan guy and ask him to stop those robots. They are really hindering my search._ – He thought to himself as he speed at the nearby group of robots, he saw in the distance. It didn't took him more time than eating a chili-dog to get rid of them.

_No fun. Even Eggman's earliest robots were more of a challenge_ – He complained kicking rusty head and sending it fly high through the air. Standing around robotic remains he pondered whether he should just enter one of the towns, but remembered what one of the banished told him._ "You must not go in there. They will chase you, because they will think you are evil like us and we don't want anyone to be hurt…that's why we don't fight them." _

"This sucks…" Said the blue blur to no one in particular. He couldn't agree with the way the banished looked at this situation…if the world wasn't going right, they should correct it but all they did was to sit quietly letting themselves be bullied. Just as he was deep in thought about this situation, he heard a loud scream in the distance.

"Break's over, time to work" He told himself, while grinning wide and speed towards the source of the voice. Thinking too much never did any good for him, he was a hog of action anyway!

* * *

As the sun was high up in the sky, the heat more and more unbearable and sound of work filled the fields, all of the farmers present were sweating all over their bodies. In all of his life, Shadow the Hedgehog would never thought he would work on the fields like a commoner. He battled the Xorda, saved earth, battled Robotnik, survived entering the atmosphere, but this was just too much for him. It wasn't hard, as he was the ultimate life form and didn't tire so easily…it just was boring the hell out of him. How many times do you have to hit the ground with hoe anyway? On top of that, these people annoyed him more than this field of his which looked like a mine exploded in the middle of it.

_Why do they must be so helpful and nosy. _– He thought, remembering how all of them welcomed him to their community with no regard for his personal space and many uncomfortable questions. Then they started helping him, giving him pointers about tending to a field. Did he look like he needed help anyway? He could manage everything like always without help from those people! Of course he tried to get rid of them but apparently their level of understanding sarcasm and hints hidden between words was non-existent.

"Ya doin great new farm boy?" Asked the grey rabbit with crooked teeth and a bandana around his head, which gave him the look of village idiot. This one was the most annoying in Shadow's eyes. He was smaller than him by a head, probably younger by some years and yet he dared to call him boy. His accent was annoying too, and Shadow decided to get rid of him, even if it wasn't going to be in the most polite way.

"Go away idiot, don't you have a field to work on?" he asked, hoping the grey annoyance would pout and go away…he didn't had such luck.

"Working hard I see? Good one farm boy!" replied the rabbit happily and with annoying laughter went to tend to his own part of the field totally missing the obvious disdain from Shadow. Apparently those people were also too dumb to understand direct approach. Sighing heavily to himself, he wished Blaze did better job than he…

Just as he thought about it, unbeknown to him she had her own share of problems.

_Okay…I must only peel the potatoes…but was it before or after boiling them… -_ She thought looking at small vegetables before her, not having any idea how to do anything with them. Mentally cursing herself for her lack of knowledge about cooking she sighed heavily. Deciding there is no other way around it, she washed them clean and started to boil them in water over fireplace…peeling would have to wait.

_What now…_ She asked herself, looking at other components. She knew what she wanted to prepare, and that was a simple dinner for both her and Shadow that would consist of potatoes and some pork chops and a salad. Before her laid some meat, tomatoes, carrots and watermelon.

_Frying shouldn't be a problem…after all I commanded the fire all my life, so how hard could it be? _– ran her thoughts through her head, as she took out the frying pan, put some meat on it and started frying…it was too bad, no one reminded her about usage of oil and spices.

The salad turned out better than other parts of the meal… it's taste was strange but that was to be expected when using such random components. Looking with dread at her creation the fire princess sighed heavily while feeling very depressed. She knew that she was not good at it, but there really was no way around it, and now she felt that she failed big time. Knowing that Shadow will probably be tired and hungry when he finishes his work didn't make her feel any better… she felt that she was only a burden to him, a failure as a woman. Just as she was pitying herself which she rarely did, she heard the doors to their home open. Shadow was back, and he didn't look happy at all…well…he won't find happiness when he will see the dinner.

* * *

Running at full speed Sonic quickly found the source of the voice in need. It belonged to some merchant whose wooden cart was attacked by two random rusty robots in black robes. Smirking, he dashed through them, blowing them to pieces just as one was going to strike the scarred guy with its scimitar. Brushing his blue quills from desert sand he looked at the person he saved. It wouldn't be bad to ask if maybe he saw some of his friends. Just as he came closer the guy looked in confusion at him.

"Mister Shadow…? No…you look similar to him…" Asked Gold the Monkey with puzzled expression, feeling déjà-vu. It was second time he was attacked and saved by a hedgehog with strange clothes, but this one was different and he could feel it. What was with this insane speed of his? Was he a demon or something? Still there was no need to be picky as his timing was perfect.

_It seems I finally found some leads –_ Thought Sonic to himself as a cocky smile bloomed on his muzzle. Approaching the lone merchant he waved his hand, deciding it was finally time to get some answers.

"Hey mister, I see you have luck with those robots that attack only banished. I get it, you are under cover like some of your folks right?" Said Sonic, blowing instantly the disguise of Gold the Monkey, making him look shocked as if the hedgehog grew second head. It was true, that the merchant was one of the banished and traveled around to get materials needed to survive, for his village. Normal townsfolk weren't problem and were fooled easily by fake bonding amulets, but the robots of high lord Kirlan could see through his disguise with no problem and their patrols recently increased. With open mouth the merchant collected himself, deciding that there was no need to pretend…but he still was wary of the blue hedgehog.

"Ahem…you are right. I get it you are not with the kingdom seeing as you don't have bonding amulet yourself. Allow me to introduce myself. My name Is Gold the Monkey" Said the merchant with grim smile.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. Say mister I look for my friends, and I heard you say the name Shadow. Was he by any chance a black hedgehog with red stripes and slightly less handsome than me?" Asked Sonic quickly. He wasted enough time searching, and began to think that maybe he was sent to this dimension alone.

"I know of him. He and his companion, the lilac furred cat, saved me from robots like these. They seemed strange and wore clothing unknown to me, but they were kind, so I helped them a little. Of course I couldn't reveal to be one of the banished…you know, because it could harm others from my village." Replied the merchant, remembering how suspicious of him the black hedgehog seemed. He knew right from the start they were not your everyday people but the banished weren't evil and he couldn't just leave them on the desert while they saved his live mere seconds ago.

"You know where to find them?" Inquired the blue blur, itching for more action, happy that he found not only Shadow but also Blaze. If the two of them were in this world, that meant others should be in here too.

"I left them at nearby city. It's called the city of Sandstone, and is owned by a wealthy merchant, but I doubt you will be able to catch up with them. Just some hours ago I saw a patrol of nearly twenty robots going into direction of that town…they will probably attack it and the banished will again take the blame." Replied sadly the merchant, pointing at the direction of the city, while casting his eyes down. He was sure, they would be safe there, since bigger patrols rarely come to inspect private cities but he was mistaken. He was thinking whether he should go back to help them, but it would be suicide and he was not brave enough.

"What?!" Nearly yelled Sonic at the top of his lungs. He knew that his friends were probably powerless and this guy didn't even try to help them. Looking more serious he eyed the monkey with his green eyes, while furrowing his eyebrows.

"You know mister… it's not okay to leave others in need like this." He stated prepared to run at top speed towards the direction, the merchant pointed, but just as he was going to begin, he heard the merchant mumble under his nose.

"We aren't warriors mister Sonic. All we can do is to accept the reality." There was a big sadness in his tone, as he stated his point of view in a very depressing manner, but Sonic wasn't going to agree with him.

"You don't need warriors to fight for what is right. If you don't like the reality, just work hard and change it instead of accepting it, there is nothing more, nothing less." Said the hero of Mobius, to which the merchant fell silent, while thinking about his words. Coming to a conclusion, the guy took off his bonding amulet and threw it at Sonic who easily grabbed it and put it around his neck.

"If you are going in there, please take this. You will need it to enter the town." Replied the merchant but before he was going to add anything more, the blue speedster was already gone and only a cloud of sand moved by his speed behind him remained. Sighing to himself, Gold the Monkey looked at the sky, while pondering about what the blue blur told him.

"Fight for what's right, huh?" He said out loud...it felt strange, that complete stranger told him to fight, when he, the inhabitant of this kingdom wouldn't even think about it…maybe there was hope after all, if they all put their act together.

* * *

It was impossible… No matter how hard he tried, this taste was totally off, and the "thing" before him was inedible. He really tried his best but the more he tasted, the more he was sure even him being the ultimate life form wouldn't help him digest this dinner. As Shadow the Hedgehog was struggling with this creation of Blaze the Cat, he stole a quick glance at the fire feline… and the look on her face told him, she had thoughts similar to his own.

"It's…gross…" he heard her mutter, while using spoon to poke at melted potatoes…how could you melt potatoes anyway? Sighing heavily to herself she hid her face in her hands. This was by now her biggest failure since coming to this world. Not only did she embarrassed herself before Shadow but she also wasted the food…and she knew it will continue like this until they get the money to travel.

"I'm…sorry Shadow. It looks like I failed again. Don't force yourself to eat this s-!" She began, not bothering to speak in proper manner, while rising her voice more and more, frustration seeping out of her but was quickly interrupted by Shadow, standing up.

"Blaze! It's only a dinner, there is no need to be this angry about it." He replied, while coming closer to her, but just as he was about to put his hand on her shoulder to clam her, she shoot up from her chair, nearly making it fall to the ground, while clear anger seeped from her golden eyes.

"Only a dinner! No Shadow, it's not only a dinner! In case you didn't noticed I fail time after time at EVERYTHING!" She shouted, unable to control herself anymore. She wasn't angry at him, just at herself and it really got to her.

"Speak quietly or I will really reconsider using law to cut out your vocal cords. " He ordered but was met with expected, if quiet resistance. He actually knew the fire princess wouldn't listen when she was angry, but this time he decided to try this approach. It wasn't good for her to keep all this frustration inside her and he knew that. Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, the lilac feline reluctantly lowered the volume of her voice, but the frustration didn't leave her and she continued, still full of remorse.

"But it's true. After we arrived to this dimension all I do is fail at everything. You would probably be better on your own and we both know it. It was you who made good decision to travel on the desert while I pointlessly wasted time, you made the decision to travel with that merchant, you gathered information where to work and It was YOU who got us into this place…and what did I do? Nothing…I can't even prepare one stupid meal" Spat Blaze with each word feeling more and more frustrated. When she finished she sat down on her chair, looking angrily at the failed dinner as if it was its fault everything was like this. She wouldn't cry as she wasn't the type to do so, but she still felt hot inside. It was then that Shadow decided, it was good time to try to calm her down…because believe it or not, he didn't found her to be a burden. On the contrary, he wouldn't be able to get anywhere in this world if not for her being with him as only married couple would be able to journey this far. Coming closer he lowered himself before her while putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I know how you feel…but I wouldn't be able to get this far without you." He said, waiting for her reaction, which surprised him as she hugged him tight. As the initial shock passed he reminded himself that after all she was still a girl and needed support in times like these. Slowly wrapping his hands around her back, he held her tight waiting for her to calm down. She had every right to do what she was doing now. Closing his eyes, he could feel her heartbeat, still unsettled. The feeling of her being this close was mesmerizing to him, but he didn't knew why. He never did feel anything like that before, but truth be told, no other female came this close to him in the past…not since Maria died.

"Don't worry Blaze…I'm sure there will come time, when only you will be able to do something." He said softly, wondering if what he said sounded right…it wasn't his thing to cheer others up, Sonic was better than him, when it came to stuff like this, but seeing as the fire princess calmed slightly and pulled away from him, now looking down at the ground like a embarrassed child.

"I know…I apologize, it's again that you have to cheer me up." She sighed heavily. She just couldn't understand what was happening to her. In all her life she was independent but since coming to this world, she relied on Shadow all this time…she slowly started to question her own actions when it came to the dark hedgehog. Maybe she was falling for him? Shoving the thought aside quickly, telling herself it was impossible she decided that he is simply being a good friend to her and nothing more…even if he really seems to care about her well being like no one ever did.

"How do you do it Shadow?" She asked looking at him, as he again positioned himself on his chair, which got her a puzzled look from her black companion.

"Do what Blaze?" He replied, wondering what could she get at. Was she wondering about him calming her down or was it something else? He wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this question of hers. Fortunately, he didn't have to as she elaborated.

"Everything…each time we meet I never see you fail at anything…it's like you are perfect." Stated Blaze wondering about her friend. It all reminded her, that even now she didn't knew anything about his past and it made her curious…but would it be okay to just ask him about it so openly?

"I'm not perfect Blaze…although I was designed to be…" Replied the dark hedgehog to it mysteriously, and as he looked at his lilac furred ally, he noticed how curious she got… because of this response of this, the feline finally couldn't hold back her curiosity and it wouldn't kill her to ask would it?

"Designed…it reminds me, when we were in the tavern you said something about being different from others, but never elaborated…would it be impolite of me to ask you about this…? I mean, I don't want to pry into your past…" She cut slightly embarrassed at her own behavior but at the same time hoping that she would finally learn anything about this mysterious black hedgehog, who could probably fight on par with her, if not win. As Shadow's face became unreadable for a moment, he was thinking whether he should speak about everything to her…but then he noticed he also didn't knew much about Blaze's own past, so maybe it wouldn't be bad thing to share. If they understood themselves a little better, then it could be easier to pretend being married. Sighing to himself, he looked seriously at the fire princes, as his decision was made.

"Okay Blaze, but only if you will share your own past with me." He said while folding his arms over his chest. He didn't like to be open to others but there was no harm in it, if he was talking with Blaze…or so he felt. Hearing approval to his proposition from her, he began his tale from fifty years ago…

"I was created fifty years ago on board of the space colony Ark by professor Gerald Robotnik… Eggman's grandfather. The project goal was to create the ultimate life form and unlock the secrets of immortality." Started Shadow remembering the time that his true purpose of stopping the black arms was revealed to him, when he gathered all seven chaos emeralds, but saying he was supposed to be savior of humanity didn't feel right after all the things he did. Closing his eyes he continued his tale as Blaze grew more amazed with each word he told her. There were already countless questions growing up inside her.

"Of course professor Gerald didn't want to do it…believe me or not, all the kind professor wanted was to help others but he would never tap into the forbidden field of science. The government pressed him but time after time he declined. It all changed however when his granddaughter Maria developed N.I.D.S which stands for Neuro-Immuno Deficiency Syndrome." Blaze noticed how soft Shadow spoke the name of Maria…she was probably someone important in his life. Being extremely interested in Shadow's story, she leaned slightly forward waiting to hear more of this fascinating tale.

"With his kind granddaughter life threatened, he worked day and night alongside other scientists, even dealing with aliens…but I won't go into details of this. All that matters is that he finally succeeded, and the fruit of his labor was me…"

"So you are immortal?" Asked Blaze with wide eyes, not believing what she just heard, but to her question Shadow only shook his head in dismissal.

"No. The closest the professor could get was to make ma ageless and even this is provided to me, thanks to my cells high regeneration rate. Going back on topic. Because of his deals with aliens the government decided to shut down the project…everyone I knew died…including his granddaughter who was also my closest friend. I lost everything and was put to sleep for fifty years, with the promise to Maria who died before my eyes, that I would give the people of this world a chance to be happy…until Eggman released me from G.U.N." As Shadow was continuing his part of the story, Blaze noticed so much emotions displayed on his face, she never thought it was possible for him to show sadness so openly and in her heart she finally understood why he wasn't thrilled to share his story with anyone. Remembering what she told him back at G.U.N. headquarters she felt horrible but right now all she could do, was to look sadly at him… she never knew he had such horrible experience and she felt awful for even saying he didn't knew how it is to lose something important to him. As if on impulse, she wanted to stand up from her chair and hug him tightly, but deep down she also knew he wouldn't accept pity…so instead she simply asked him a question that was bothering her.

"Eggman released you from G.U.N.? I thought you work for them now."

"I used to hate the world Blaze, and even went as far as to nearly destroy it, since I lost most of my memories because of fifty years of sleep. In the end I regained them and did what was right. After that I continued to fight alongside others, joined G.U.N. and I am now doing everything Maria wished for…and that Is to protect the world at all cost." He concluded, sighing deeply. He might have left his past behind himself but it was still a very heavy burden on his heart. Opening his eyes, he looked at Blaze seeing how troubled she looked. He was slightly taken aback that she didn't simply pitied him like everyone else he knew would do, and was thankful for that. She seemed to understand him and that was all that mattered to him.

"That's basically the most important thing about me. I…don't usually speak of it to others and I hope you can understand why," He said, as she nodded her head eagerly. She wanted to ask about more details but just couldn't bring herself to do so, since what she heard was already overwhelming to her.

"I believe it's your time to tell me a story" Replied the ebony hedgehog, while leaning more comfortable in his chair. He wasn't the type to pry into other's past but the feline made him curious since the first time they met, especially those fire powers of her.

"There really isn't this much about me…as you know I was born in royal family, so you can guess I was strictly trained to be a ruler since the earliest days of my life. Unfortunately I was born with the powers to control fire, and everyone feared me…you know how it is to be different from others." She said with soft and sad smile dancing on her lips, but Shadow didn't dare to interrupt her.

"My parents died early, so like you I was alone, in a world that feared me, without anyone to speak. It made me the way I am, closed to others and hateful of my own cursed power. Even my subjects were scarred of me and I was alone all my life. The only thing that kept me going was my duty of protecting my world and the sol emeralds…and I did it and nothing more, becoming stronger and stronger each day." Smiling wider, she remembered how it all changed instantly when meeting with Sonic. She really owed him big time, for getting her out of her shell. It was one of those rare and pleasant memories for her which she treasured the most.

"When I meet Sonic, when Eggman Nega stole the sol emeralds at first I was reluctant to accept any kind of help, but he really can talk anyone into working with him."

"He does have this kind of effect, I suppose" Replied Shadow, remembering how often did he work with his rival. His and Blaze's stories were similar in some way…the difference was, that he lost everything, while she still had her world…he wouldn't let her lose it no matter what.

"After that I began to slowly accept my powers, for the first time understanding, that flames are not only to destroy." She concluded quietly, in her heart actually missing her powers. It was strange for her, that she loathed them most of her life and now, that she can't use them she actually misses them.

Just as the two warriors were contently enjoying each other company and thinking over everything they heard, both of them noticed one thing…they weren't so different after all. For the very first time both Blaze and Shadow could feel strong bond of understanding that tied them and it was in this special moment, they decided that no matter what will happen they will succeed at going back home…no matter the sacrifices needed.

Just as Shadow was going to break the silence a commotion could be heard from outside. Standing up, he went toward the kitchen window to see what was going on, but just as he was coming closer to it, a well known face of idiotic grey rabbit, whose name he couldn't even remember, showed up before him, making him jump.

"Helllooo farm boy! Get yer wife and come out, the sacred inquisition is here! Wouldn't want to keep them wait would ya?" He basically yelled at him and vanished.

"Sacred what?" He heard Blaze say behind him, but turning to her, he was only able to shook his shoulders , not having any answers for the fire feline.

"Don't know what this is about, but better let's go out" He proposed as the fire feline stood up glad for the possibility to change scenery. All day was she in locked up the house, cleaning and cooking like every wife of this world so she was happy to be able to catch some rays of the warm sun. As both of them slowly made their way toward the entrance door, they each had one question running through their heads _"What was going on this time?"_

* * *

**To be continued...see you in chapter 8 :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8! Thank you all for those kind reviews, they really keep me going :) This one is dedicated for all of you, seeing as its a little pearl of this story :) Enjoy!**

* * *

When the doors closed after them and sun rays began heating their bodies, both Shadow and Blaze stood before a very unusual view. It appeared that inhabitants of this dimension had some traditions which were still unknown to them, as they all gathered in the center of the field awaiting something. Coming closer both of them were greeted by silent nods and some pleasant words, as they were new to this community. Both of them got also their share of envious look from some of the inhabitants but that was to be expected, as Shadow was a handsome male with strong muscles and Blaze got not only good looks but also mysterious aura that only true princess could develop over the years of leading her people. Neither of the two knew, whether they should ask others about the purpose of this gathering since it could blow their cover so they waited patiently for something to happen, while unconsciously holding their hands, which became a habit of theirs over time. As they waited standing side by side, they noticed that something was coming their way, and they soon discovered that it was a small procession of four soldiers clad in long coats and masks that hid their appearance. The soldiers protected someone who appeared to be a priest of some sort. When the group stopped some meters before their gathering, they could hear the voice, which couldn't be interpreted as wither male or female.

"Venerable workers from the city of Sandstorm!" Began loudly the priest with polite words, while making a strange gesture in the air. Was he blessing them?

"As all of you know, this is the year of wind, and as it is in every first day of three months there comes a time for a married couple to perform the sacred ritual, as proof of them, that they haven't fallen in the ranks of demons." As his voice resonated between now empty buildings, all villagers, save for Shadow and Blaze seemed to calm themselves, but at the same time they also looked suspicious at their neighbors, as if expecting them to grow horns or other demon-like traits. With little to no information about the contents of this so called ritual, both of our heroes stood their ground deciding to watch it for now, and in case of danger quickly run for it.

"We shall now begin with our judgment." Continued the priest as he took out something that appeared to be a list of work contracts for all employed in here.

"Grain the Rabbit, and his wife Jana the Donkey. Step forward and perform the sacred ritual." Said the mysterious figure, as both called went out of the gathering and came up to him. Eyeing both of them, the priest looked first at their bonding amulets and then motioned with his head for them to begin. Whatever Shadow and Blaze were expecting to happen, it surely wasn't what they thought as they saw the couple hug tight first and then they lips moved closer and closer until they met in a long and passionate kiss. When both of them parted, the priest only nodded his head with approval and then said, that they performed the sacred ritual well. Then they went back to the gathering and another couple was called forward.

"No way…" Whispered silently Blaze, so only Shadow could hear her. Suddenly holding his hand wasn't as easy as before, as she could feel cold sweat run down her spine, even if it was very hot outside. Noticing how scarred she was, Shadow was quick to develop a plan of escape…or he tried to, but no matter what he thought of, there was no way out of this situation. While they could try to outrun the soldiers it would left them away from the city, with patrols looking for them, no food, no water and no safe place…not to mention, their belongings were still inside the house. Looking at his companion, he noticed she was trembling slightly, and as they exchanged glances he decided there was only one way about this…but would they manage to do it? He needed to try.

"I don't want to force you into anything. Just give me a signal when to run and I will follow. " He said to her, as their names were called and even his heartbeat started to pump blood faster. With that, the time seemed to slow down, as they made their way through the crowd, with each step coming closer and closer to the mysterious priest who now reminded them more of executioner than a harbinger of god…

* * *

"Hey…slow down a little. Do you even know where to go?" Asked the pink hedgehog, while trying very hard to catch her breath

"Relax Pinkie, I'm a specialist when it comes to treasure hunting and I really can find one old oracle, even in the middle of the swamp." Replied her companion, who was a beautiful ivory bat. It had been half of the day, since they set out from village of banished, now fully clothed and clean, as they made their way in search of legendary oracle that could hold the answers they were looking for. It was a way through torment as they tried to step only on stable ground, avoid snakes and frogs, and most important of all…remain mostly clean.

"Do you think others are doing better than us?" Inquired Amy, as she hated the quiet atmosphere of this swamp. She would rather speak with Rouge even if it annoyed her, and it seemed the bat had similar point of view.

"It depends if they are alone or no… speaking for Shadow, I'm not concerned. He had his military training and should be able to manage in every situation." She said with broad smile. Truthfully she didn't wished anyone bad, but her co-worker and partner was actually the only one she was concerned about, even if saying otherwise.

"I don't know…this world is different than ours and has some strange laws that revolve around emotions and I know he is not good at dealing with them." Replied Amy to this, but at the same time doubted that something like this would hinder Shadow in any way. What Rouge said next made her even smile a bit.

"What? Don't worry, I doubt he will have to kiss anyone to live" Laughed the white bat, and was soon joined by her companion. Truly, this was rally a mad idea, and so impossible, that they dismissed it quickly.

"Okay, that's enough lollygagging for now. According to our information we got from banished, the oracle should be somewhere around here…but all I see are trees and mud…hmm." Said Rouge while pondering about their situation. There was no possibility that she would lose her way, since often she flew up to make sure they go in right direction. She even thought of possibility that, the villagers lied to them, but what goal would It serve? Dismissing the idea she scanned the surroundings but nothing came to mind.

"Just admit it. We are lost." She heard Amy say behind her tiredly. Whirling around, she looked at her companion with sharp look in the eyes.

"There is no way we got lost, I double checked it all the time. Either the oracle was a fairy tale or it sank into the ground…which I doubt." She concluded while proposing both of those ridiculous explanations. There Is no way that there wouldn't be any signs of this oracle…maybe they really were lost.

"Then where is it? It must be somewhere around here. Just search." Said the pink hedgehog, and just as she finished her last sentence while stamping the ground with her boot, she heard a quiet crack underneath her foot. Looking down she noticed that the ground it different in this part.

"Rouge? I think I found som…whoaaa!" She started but was interrupted as the ground caved in and she feel down one level, landing hard on her rear.

"Look! It really was underground!" She heard from above, and as she looked, she could see happy face of her companion which clearly showed how proud she was of her ally.

"Yeah…ouch…but couldn't I found it in more less painful manner?" Groaned the pink hedgehog while massaging her back side and getting up. Just as she stood, the ivory bat landed next to her and now both pair of eyes looked around the ancient oracle. There wasn't much to look at, as it looked more like old and dirty well with symbols engraved at its base that for some reason was situated in the middle of small cave. Whatever wonders any of them expected to see were non-existent.

"Well…that's about it I think. Only one old and ugly well." Said the white bat with bored tone while nearing the pond of water that was inside the crude construction. Just as she was about to come closer for more detailed inspection, a loud voice echoed in the cavern.

"OLD AND DIRTY WELL YOU SAY?!" Yelled the oracle, making both heroines jump up, while the water from the well rose up and a silhouette of young woman appeared before them. The presence that was made out of clear water and seemed to glow slightly from the outside looked at both of them sternly. It resembled a serpent type mobian with round glasses and a mask that made it look like it had moustache and big nose…somehow the apparition reminded them of someone but they couldn't put exactly who, as both of them were to shocked to even utter one word.

"Silent eh? Must be my charm. Good, both of you, what do you want? Made it quick I'm a very busy person!" Yelled again the figure and both Amy and Rouge had to admit, that for an oracle it was VERY rude and unfriendly.

So much for fairy-tales. Thought Amy, as she neared the water spirit to ask her question.

"We wish to know…" She began but was again interrupted by the annoying oracle.

"I know what you want to know, I'm the oracle and I know all. Who do you take me for, huh?" Said the spirit, while threatening poor pink hedgehog, who looked like she would explode any moment from visible anger building up inside her. Acting quickly, Rouge decided to take matters in her own hands, since she, like no other woman could put somebody like this in their place.

"Then why don't you kindly share your knowledge If you know so much?" Asked the white bat with false kindness which made the spirit look at her…and it took longer while, until she turned her head back to Amy.

"I'm not talking to someone ugly who hides behind mascara to look better and can't even get decent boyfriend" Replied bluntly the apparition, which left Rouge's mouth nearly fall to the ground. She didn't expect to hear that about herself, not from this spirit anyway and it made her fall silent…as anger slowly build up in her. When both females were ready to lunge at the annoying oracle, it sighed suddenly and said something which neither of them expected.

"It's not the time for you to be in here. What you need is to go outside and head north and there you will find your destiny. Until we meet again…ugly girls." Calmly said the apparition and dissipated into the well water, leaving both of them stunned in their place. Not knowing whether they should say anything unpleasant or not to address the well at all. Silently communicating with each other, they decided to exited this place as quickly as possible, since it seemed they wouldn't gain anything more. Back outside, both of them finally let their anger out.

"Annoying spirit!" Said Rouge, with arms folded under her chest, as she started to check where north was, since it would probably be their next course of action to head there.

"Relax at least we know what to do next" Replied Amy with forced smile, who right now wanted nothing more than to use her hammer to smash the stone well to pieces. Collecting herself slowly, she decided it wasn't so bad…at least they got information relatively easy.

"Let's just head north…I wonder what awaits us there, but I promise, if it's just a joke of the oracle, I will come back here and throw so much dirt into that well, until that spirit will say sorry." Said the G.U.N. Spy to that, and both of them began slowly walking where the rude oracle told them, hoping that no more surprises would befall them.

* * *

With heavy steeps they neared the mysterious priest who stood motionless in the rays of desert sun falling on him. As the distance was growing smaller and smaller, both Shadow and Blaze had their separate thoughts run through their heads. When they finally neared their destination, the man or was it woman, looked at their bonding amulets, and when his head shoved approval, he motioned for them to proceeds. As Shadow was ready to run any moment, Blaze on the other hand had different thoughts.

_I won't do it…! _She thought at first over and over again with each step she took on hot sand, but then, memories from not so distant past filled her vision. Every failure she experienced since coming to this world, Shadow being there for her, supporting her in her time of need, swallowing one embarrassment after another for her sake…he always did everything for her, while sacrificing his pride and all she did was being liability. Just as she thought about all this, his voice echoed in her head, the fresh memory of him holding her tightly and saying _"Don't worry Blaze…I'm sure there will come time, when only you will be able to do something."_. As his voice resonated inside her, she steeled her nerves more and more, while feeling courage filling her heart. A ray of hope.

_Is this the moment?_ She thought to herself as the priest motioned for them to proceed with the sacred ritual. Deciding on her course of action, she turned to Shadow slowly, looking into those red eyes of his, her hand holding his firmly. If the ebony hedgehog thought she was going to run, then he was gravely mistaken…she just hoped, he would forgive her for this. As her hands wrapped around his strong neck and his eyes grew bigger she slowly moved her face closer and closer to his. Frozen in place the ultimate-life form didn't know what to do, he was not prepared for this, as his heart raced faster, unable to contain the feelings that grew inside it.

_…she couldn't…_ he started thinking, while panicking as her soft lips gently brushed against his and soon pressed harder, their saliva now mixing as their tongues danced with each other. It wasn't a perfect kiss as not even one of them had any prior experience, but it still filled both of their tormented hearts with new, unknown and overwhelming feelings, as the world seemed to vanish from all around them and their heads felt light. Eyes closed they continued this embrace, as electricity seemed to flow through their spines to the tips of their fingers which could feel soft fur of their bodies under them. As their first kiss evolved into less awkward one and continued for what seemed to be an eternity, they slowly pulled out as both of them lacked oxygen needed to breathe. When red met amber again, not a world escaped either lips, as taste of each other still lingered on them. While silently embracing what had happened, on the corner of their vision, they saw the priest who showed his utmost approval at their actions.

"You have done well…now go in peace, young ones" they heard him say, and just like that, they slowly made their way back, into the gathering of other couples. As the ceremony continued, neither of them looked at another, seeking sanctuary from their raging emotions inside their own thoughts. When the ceremony finally ended, each family went to its respective home, including both Shadow and Blaze. As soon as they closed the door, both of them slowly unlinked their arms, not one of them saying anything…not knowing what to say.

"It was…very bold of you." Whispered Shadow, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence and then he proceeded to clean the dirty dishes they leaved before all…this. He needed to occupy his hands with something. Standing with his back turned to the fire feline he could hear Blaze shifting uncomfortably behind him, probably thinking what to say.

"Are you angry with my decision?" She asked softly, her voice weak and uncertain. Today she sacrificed much…and just hoped that it wouldn't break her newfound bond with the black hedgehog.

"Angry…? No. More like…shocked….surprised. I didn't expect you to actually do this." Said Shadow, now turning to her as red colored his cheeks. He noticed that his friend was also pink in cheeks, as the memories filled both of their heads.

"E-Excuse my selfish actions. I j-just…didn't want t-to fail again…" Apologized the fire feline, while looking intently at the ground, finding the stone surface very interesting. She was glad that Shadow wasn't angry but she still stole a kiss from him which was considered rude by her standards.

"No harm done…it was…e-enjoyable" continued their awkward exchange the black hero. Inside his hearth he didn't knew what was going on. He didn't feel anything special for Blaze…or did he? By logic he thought, that he should stop all of this, seeing as their bond deepened with each hour but…did he really wanted to? He no longer knew himself. Turning his back to the fire princess, he sighed heavily and reassumed his task of cleaning, until small purple hands took the plate away from him. Looking up with puzzled expression he noticed the disapproving look in golden eyes of Blaze the Cat.

_Enjoyable?!_ – She thought, shocked inside, but wasn't brave enough to inquire about it. If one was to ask why, that was because she was actually scarred. She knew what those blooming feelings in her heart were, as any girl would know, but would it really be okay for her to let herself be lost in them? And what about Shadow? Would he want something more? What did enjoyable meant to him? With so many different thoughts, newfound fears and uncertainty, she decided to do one thing for now…and that was to shove her feelings aside, like she always did when everything was complicated. She had her world to save…but maybe after it was saved, she would find some time for accordingly deal with them…and with Shadow. As blush crept on her face, she looked disapprovingly at the black hedgehog while snatching a dirty plate from his hands. She also needed to preoccupy herself.

"It's the task of wife to clean." She stated simply, earning a dumbfounded look from Shadow, who chuckled to it and sat in the wooden chair, leaving her to her task, while observing her curiously. He just needed to say one more thing in regards of their future in this house.

"It's also the wife task to cook… think you can try to learn a little?" He didn't mean to be rude…but it needed to be said, as he could still feel the abomination that she created, coursing in his stomach. As expected, he made her pout at him and leave him alone but both of them knew that she would try to improve her skills anyway…after all, she wanted to be of more help to both of them.

_Thank you Shadow…for being here for me. _– She thought as she began cleaning the stuff from the plate which didn't want to come off at all. Why did the melted potatoes had to turn into some kind of hard shell? As she mentally complained, she decided that she will never, ever try to cook potatoes unless someone will tell her how to do it.

* * *

As the hot wind blew on their faces, the stranger walked and walked, until the landscape changed from flat wastelands to more sharp mountains. Following him, both Tails and Knuckles slowly were beginning to realize that something was definitely off about this situation. The cat who saved them didn't utter even one word and yet they were obediently following, while not asking any questions. When the mysterious man finally stopped, they noticed that the atmosphere grew heavy. Feeling danger both of them ducked to the side, breaking trance they were in, as the man whipped to face them, beam of energy shooting from his staff.

"Whoa…watch out Tails, this dude is dangerous." Yelled the echidna, as he missed the next attack by mere inches.

"Why were we even walking behind him?" Asked the twin tailed fox bewildered, while more energy beams launched his way, which he dodged with trouble.

"Don't ask me! I followed you!" Replied the guardian, seeing as the old cat prepared for his next attack, while chanting something underneath his nose.

_This guy means trouble…we need to get out of here quickly! –_ Concluded the red guardian, as his senses of seasoned warrior told him. They were powerless against this enemy so he did the only thing he could and that was…

"Run!" Yelled Tails, anticipating the angel island champion, as both of them started to sprint towards the nearby boulder, hiding behind it. The stranger however wasn't going to stop, as he assaulted the rock with his powers smashing half of it in the process.

"What wouldn't I give right now for my powers. We need a plan." Said Knuckles, as he quickly looked around for anything that could give them an edge…he didn't found anything as only rocks were all around.

_Rocks…that's it! _– He exclaimed, and took a nice shaped one in his hand and then, with all his might, he threw it at the dangerous sorcerer. Unfortunately, the projectile bounced of the invisible shield.

"That's your plan?" Asked the smart fox with disbelief painted all over his face.

"Hey, it was worth a try!" Argued the guardian as another beam speed above their heads. If this continues, it would be unlikely that they would be able to get back to their home…

* * *

**The feelings evolve...wonder what will happen now :) TBC...**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9! Looking at it...I had a lot of fun writing it and you will understand why xD Enjoy R&R :)**

**I have a question for you my dear readers :P Would you like a sequel to this story? :)**

* * *

It was well past dusk, when Shadow came back home. He had to tend to their field longer seeing as he only recently started to learn how to do it. He managed to fix the field so it no longer looked like a battlefield after Omega unloaded his fury, but there was still a lot of work to be done. Toying with his bonding amulet, he felt sore all over. He might be the ultimate life form, but without his chaos powers even he would tire after this much work…and he DID work two times more than other farmers, because of his mistakes.

"Feeling tired?" He heard sudden voice behind his back, which made him jump up slightly, before he recognized its owner as Blaze the Cat. Putting on, an unreadable expression, he turned around slowly to face her. As his ruby colored eyes landed on her he noticed she looked different than usual, since her hair was down and not in usual ponytail. He must admit, she looked more like a girl with it like this.

"I'm okay. It's nothing." He said, but the furrowed eyebrows of the feline told him, she didn't buy it. She made her way slowly to him and touched his shoulder with a little too much force than needed and even he had to wince slightly.

"Stop pretending. I know you worked hard, while I sat comfortably in home…save for going to shop in the market." She replied with voice clearly not happy about how thing were. However she already had some way to deal with this. A very good way indeed.

"Take a bath and meet me in the bedroom afterwards." She ordered, and slowly, but with certain steps she went there first, missing the dumbfounded look that bloomed on the black hedgehog's face, as he watched her tail swing from side to side, when she vanished after their bedroom doors.

_WHAT THE…?!_ – He thought bewildered, but quickly dismissed his raging thoughts. Blaze wasn't a type to propose "this"…or was she? He was no longer certain, remembering the feeling of her velvet lips, as his heart began to race with doubled speed. With legs trembling a little, he had two courses of action to take. One was to run, but that would made him a coward and he was nothing of this sort. Second choice was to first take a bath, which he needed anyway since he could feel sand all over his body…and then to go into the bedroom to face whatever awaited him. Gulping saliva, he made his choice and slowly went towards their bathroom. Just what mess had he ventured into since coming to this world?

* * *

"Go north and it is where you destiny awaits, huh? Wait till I get my hands on that spirit!" Yelled Rouge the Bat with clear hint of anger in her voice. If "this" was their destiny then she would rather wander the swamps.

"Just leave something for me." Added Amy Rose, as she laid her back on the cold metal surface of the steel bars, displeasure painted all over her. Not much time passed since they were captured by a nearby patrol of high lord Kirlan when they did as the rude oracle told, them which was to head north…right into enemy camp. They now sat in a cage on the wooden cart, being taken who knows where. Even if no harm befallen them it still wasn't the best situation they could find themselves into.

"Do you think we can manage to escape somehow?" Asked Amy, while looking at the cage lock and the six guards that were around the cart. To her, they looked more like some priests than soldiers, seeing as they wore dark robes and metal masks that hid their appearance.

"When the right time comes, sure, but right now it's a little impossible. I mean, I could fly but not with you as additional weight." Replied the ivory bat truthfully, not wanting to leave Amy behind. She actually thought of this possibility before, but the pink hedgehog helped her a little and she really didn't want to leave her like this If she didn't had to. She could prove to be useful later on….was what she told herself.

"Geez…thanks for calling me fat. I'm working out you know?" Pouted Amy as she crossed her arms, obviously not pleased with her companion choice of words. She wondered if they will be able to meet up with Sonic, knowing that he had a good timing when it came to rescuing his friends from trouble…and they were in trouble weren't they?

"Where do you think they are taking us?" She asked but Rouge only shook her shoulders. Obviously the bat didn't want to have a conversation with her, as she seemed more preoccupied with listening to the guards chatter…sadly, no useful information was exchanged between them.

* * *

_Okay Shadow…you can do this, you are the ultimate life form…_ - Thought the black hedgehog with red highlights, as he felt hot all over his body but dismissed it as the effect of recent bath. His heart pounded as he put his hand on the doors. Mustering all the courage he had left he pushed them open, expecting to see the sight that would be forever engraved in his memory... However all he saw was the fire feline calmly sitting on the edge of their bed. For now things didn't look bad, but still…he wasn't able to predict what would happen in next minutes, especially if Blaze was involved.

"I see you took your time. Come closer" Said Blaze in quiet voice, as he moved forward as if in a trance. All this situation was freaking him out and he quickly tried to come up with good way to turn down the fire princess advances…but actually couldn't find any, or maybe he just didn't want it to stop.

"Lie down on your stomach and relax" She ordered next, blush clearly visible on her muzzle. As he did what she told him, he waited patiently until he felt her hands on his shoulders…

_A massage?!_ – He realized, mentally slapping himself for his earlier thoughts. What in all mobius was he thinking? What was he expecting Blaze to do? Feeling frustrated with himself, he decided now was a good time to hide his face in the pillow…so she wouldn't see his embarrassed blush. This was a failure.

"Surprised?" He heard her say with quiet voice, as she gently pressed on his muscles.

"I was on the market today and saw the massage oils… I decided that since you work so hard on the field you would feel sore and with all of those stressful situations…well…just consider this a little thank you." Said Blaze, as she put on the palms of her hands some of the special oil and began rubbing it into Shadow's body. It wasn't the first time she did something like this, since often had Marine complained about her hands and shoulders hurting, because she spent too much time behind the rudder of her ship. True, it was embarrassing to massage a male body like this…but she enjoyed it in some way. If somebody told her she would be doing this, she would probably laugh at their wild imagination, but here they were, enjoying their peaceful dusk like this. She wondered if it was like a married life feels everyday…she could get used to living like it.

_It's so pleasant…_ - Thought Shadow, as he felt his tired muscles relax. He never knew massage was this comfortable, as he never had any chance or desire to experience one. This feeling of Blaze's bare hands made him slowly drift to state between sleep and reality. Before all of this he was always alone, independent but this life here… it showed him that maybe being alone wasn't as pleasant as he first thought. He began to wonder if maybe in the future he should find someone…but would it be okay? He was ageless and didn't want to feel the pain of losing someone again.

_But is it better to live some happy moments with someone or not have them at all –_ His thoughts ran through his head, as he pondered at this seriously. Maybe he and Blaze had possible future between them…

_What is wrong with me?! I act like an idiot!_ – His mind cut in, stopping his trail of thoughts quickly. He shouldn't feel like this and he knew it. He believed that he needed to be alone in order to help his world…but did he really?

Just as the two of them enjoyed their moment they could hear a silent snicker from bedroom doors. Noticing they weren't alone they whirled their heads quickly in that direction and found no one other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Yo!" He greeted with his right hand, while his left one holding onto something in black rags, as cocky smile adorned his features.

"Hope I didn't interrupt anything." He added, while clearly trying very hard not to laugh at their embarrassed expressions. While Blaze looked like she wanted nothing more than to fall underground, Shadow on the other hand got up, red in face and went up to blue hedgehog.

"Idiot. You have three seconds left to live, so answer me. What are you doing here. How did YOU found us?" He inquired, trying very hard to restrain himself from choking the hero of mobius for interrupting his and Blaze's… intimate moment.

"Relax Shadz, I just kindly asked around. Good to know that both of you are safe and sound." Replied Sonic as he eyed both of them. He was sure something more was going on…enough for him to tease Shadow about it later, but he will let it slide for now.

"Welcome Sonic. Did you found any others? More importantly, what is it, that you hold?" Asked politely the fire princess, who recovered her voice but still was quite pink in cheeks. If Sonic will tell anybody about what he saw, she will roast him as soon as she will get her powers back…and she will do it slowly.

"Whoa slow down, even I can't keep up with so many questions at once!" Replied the blue hedgehog defensively, as his friends eyes showed more questions behind them. Something told him its going to take some time to satisfy their hunger for information.

"Why don't we sit down and I will explain everything? How about It Big brother Shadow?" continued the blue blur which got him Shadow staring at him…it looked like his family grew bigger.

* * *

"So let me sum up everything. You went around, helped the banished, found out that they are not the bad ones and that the robots, who are probably controlled by Kirlan are the culprits for all evil doings of this world. Then you meet up with merchant by the name Gold the Monkey, who also helped us before, saved him like we did and learned he was one of the banished in disguise. He told you about big group of robots that were going to attack this city and then you went to destroy them. After that you came to this town and asked around for your lost brother and finally found us. " Concluded Blaze in one breath, as she looked at the robot head Sonic brought with him. He said that it started to spout random nonsense so he decided to bring it along. She then eyed Shadow who clearly wasn't happy about Sonic introducing himself as his little brother…or maybe he wasn't thrilled to see him at all.

"I knew there was something fishy about that monkey…" Stated Shadow, who looked through the kitchen window to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation…especially a grey rabbit, who seemed to pop-up too often, like he was following them. Blaze told him that it was probably coincidence but he really insisted on being cautious.

"More importantly guys ,I get it you don't know anything about others and you can't use your powers right?" Asked Sonic to which Blaze only shook her head sadly, admitting that they were indeed powerless.

"It's just like you see. If we had our powers we wouldn't need to pretend to be married. With everything like this we concluded it would be good idea to first earn means to travel and then seek everyone else out." Said the fire feline seriously, but Sonic clearly looked like he had a time of his life.

"Pretend to be married…dunno about pretending but you two seemed to enjoy it." He replied happily but hearing Shadow growl at him and seeing the look with red angry eyes, quickly made him shut his mouth about this topic.

"Aaanyway! Shadow, I know you aren't Tails, but could you check this robot head? It might hold some useful information." Asked Sonic, which made Shadow sigh heavily. It would be a hard task to do what the blue hedgehog asked of him without proper tools and he already knew that.

"Blaze, be on the look-out, while I and my dumb little brother will talk." Said Shadow, as he uncrossed his arms and seated himself comfortably on one of the wooden chairs. Taking the rusty metal head into his hands he started looking around if and quickly found a way to dismantle the outer armor. Blaze had to admit, that when those two were this close they really resembled each other.

"This electronic is more complex than the look suggests…" Pondered the ultimate life form, as he tried to fathom the function of unknown machinery. If what Sonic said about it spouting nonsense was true, then it had some kind of transmitter. If so, then it might be possible to tap into it and extract information on the movement of those robots…maybe even orders.

"So…how was the married life Shadow?" Asked Sonic carefree, as he relaxed on his chair, arms folded behind the back of his head. He had to admit, this house had a nice design to it…like it was made for married couple, but he still had trouble picturing Shadow and Blaze posing as one, living under one roof. True, they were similar in some ways but he didn't think either of them was thrilled about this. Thinking about what he saw, he began to think, that there maybe was more to them that meet the eye. He approved of it actually, seeing as maybe then, both of them would chill out slightly.

"Not easy. A lot of ears and eyes around, not to mention either of us isn't exactly what you would call…a partner for all life material. Try working the field or Blaze's cooking and you will see what I mean." Replied the black hedgehog seriously as he continued his examination of metal parts with troubled expression.

"Blaze cooked for you?!" Half asked, half yelled Sonic in surprise. He thought nothing would shock him more than what he saw today but this was just too much.

"I would appreciate if you didn't continue this subject." Both of them heard the fire princess say in serious and threatening manner as she tried to hid her blush. She didn't want to get more embarrassments from her earlier failure of cooking that abomination.

"Sorry, Blaze. So…what else did I miss?" Inquired Sonic, but to this, neither Shadow nor Blaze replied, as they only exchanged silent glance with each other.

_Yep, definitely more happened_ – Smiled Sonic to himself but knew, that there was no way either of them would say anything if they didn't want to. For now, the blush on their faces would be enough for him to know that something really important happened. Just as he was about to ask his next question, the metallic head that Shadow tinkered with suddenly came to life.

"Attention all demons. Patrol 11 was eliminated in sector C-9. Adversary known for high speed. Send smaller patrol to investigate." Came robotic reply as the three heroes looked at the robotic head.

"It looks like you did it big brother." Stated Sonic, jokingly looking at Shadow, who frowned to him in response.

"There is more. I think it would be good idea to listen to logs. Maybe we will get some information about others." Replied Shadow as he started to tinker with different parts of this strange machine. They listened to them for some time but most of it was useless to them. They continued it, until finally they found some lead.

"Attention all units. Prepare to engage two strangers who battle with high lord Kirlan. One is red Eechidna and second is twin tailed fox. The location is E-10." As the communication cut short, the three pairs of eyes meet each other with silent understanding. The message was broadcasted not long ago.

"Sounds like Knuckles and Tails are in trouble. We need to get to them right away!" Yelled Sonic, while jumping up from his chair. If his friends were battling someone like this Kirlan guy, then their situation wasn't good and they needed to act NOW. Just as he was about to rush out of the house, Blaze stopped him.

"We can't help you, since we don't have our powers and will only slow you down. We will hold secure fort here just in case." Said Blaze and saw in the corner of her eye that Shadow approved of her idea. It would be good to be in here if Sonic brought someone injured from a fight. Here, they could at least tend to the wounds while not under attack.

"Okay, leave it to me…and Shadow, try to not do anything to Blaze while I'm away." Responded the blue blur snickering, not waiting for the black hero response…and it was a good thing, since Shadow would probably kill him if he stayed one minute longer.

"Relax. We will get him as soon as we get our powers back" Calmed him Blaze a little, seeing as anger filled his eyes…just as it had hers.

"I think, I'll need one more massage…" He mumbled under his nose while blushing slightly, to which Blaze only smiled softly…after all they didn't finished the first session because they were interrupted.

* * *

When the guards patrol finally neared the small base, both Amy and Rouge were quickly thrown inside a jail cell, with not much of a chance to escape. When both of them sat on the solid ground the Ivory bat quickly tried to unlock the doors but it turned impossible as the guards were present all the time. If something good could be said about those guys, it was that they respected their duty. Of course, both girls came with other ideas but the guards were not falling for any of them. They already tried plans "One of us is feeling ill" and "I need to go to bathroom" and neither of those yielded them much results. Rouge even tried to get the guards to come closer to the gate, by using her charm, to smash them…but it still didn't work as both of them seemed uninterested in her calling her demon spawn…which made her upset a lot.

"It's impossible" Finally concluded the ivory bat, sinking to her knees. She felt terrible, since she was able to get from prisons protected better than this rusty, old cage but this time her luck ran out. She hated fanatics, since nothing would distract them.

"Don't worry, just believe and something good will happen" Tried to cheer her up Amy, but it only got her a cynical look from her companion. Truth be told, even she started to lose hope as more time passed. As they sat in the cell, suddenly a fat guy who wore priest robes with strange ornamentation and a metal mask that hid his appearance, appeared before them.

"Foul demons." He started, while holding their fake bonding amulets, his voice neither male nor female. Those were supposed to help them but when they entered the enemy camp they were inspected and interrogated so close that their secret leaked out.

"We aren't demons. Can't you see that?" Asked Amy, getting up and catching steel bars in her hands. She was planning on arguing with the guy, but it seemed that his beliefs were more important to him than her words. He was a closed up person afterall.

"Demons have partners. Since you lack them, therefore you are evil." He concluded by his twisted logic, totally omitting the simple fact that she was just a harmless girl in jail cell. Giving up she sat on the ground. She had no strength left to argue with someone this fanatical.

"What will happen to us?" Asked Rouge the Bat, trying to sound calmly, but she feared she already knew the answer to that question…still, a confirmation would be appreciated.

"You will be freed by sacred axe, so you will never return to this world again." Replied the priest with tone as if he was telling them, what a nice weather it is today. Just as they were going to oppose his twisted logic, a loud sound could be heard from the gate directions and a clanking sound of hitting steel against steel erupted from that direction.

"What in blazes…?" Asked the priest as one of the soldiers came running up to him, his mask dented under his right cheek while he touched his arm which appeared to be broken in some places.

"The demons are attacking!" He practically yelled at the priest who quickly shook the panicked guy by his shoulders, to calm him downs…which worked pretty well since he must have touched the wounded area on his arm.

"Demons?! I didn't heard anything about any metal ones in this area!" Yelled back the holy servant as he tried to fathom what was going on. This was all not going according to plan. They were told to search the swamp and were reassured no harm will come their way!

"It's not them. It's the flesh ones! They…" Began the soldier but was cut short, as stones flew through the air and one of them hit him hard in the head, knocking him unconscious, making him fall with thud to the ground, before the feet of clearly panicked priest, who slowly backed out as he looked at the commotion that was clearly moving his way. Even if his face was hidden behind a metal mask, one could clearly tell he was scarred like never in his life.

"Forward! Don't let them run!" Both Amy and Rouge heard a familiar voice as Claw the Bear made his way towards their cage, wielding rusty chainmail and a big axe. As soldiers flew left and right, he neared them, his strong silhouette towering over the holy servant. With his strong right fist, he knocked unconscious the priest, who some seconds ago took out some holy symbol and started chanting prayer. With the priest out of the way, he swung his big trusty weapon and destroyed the lock of their cell and let them both out, while dumbfounded look adorned their faces…that wasn't how they remembered this guy.

"Mister Claw? I thought the banished didn't fought back!" Got back her voice and asked Amy Rose surprised at this sudden appearance, as more and more banished started to appear around them.

"We got a change of heart… and I assume it's thanks to your friend by the name of Sonic the Hedgehog." He yelled jovially. Truly, if miracles happened they really loved to happen around their blue hero, as Amy could feel tears of joy fill her eyes.

"You met Sonic?" Inquired shocked Rouge, not believing what her big bat ears heard. She knew already that the hero of Mobius had a knack for helping his friends in most dire situations but this was just ridiculous, as he was not even here…or was he?

"Not me but someone much more important did." Replied the bear who now reminded them more of seasoned warrior than of simple village chief, as his muscles began to tense, when he grabbed a lone soldier that was running towards them by the head, and threw him into the cage.

"Old man, the enemy is on the run. Should we follow them?" Asked the female who came up to them and both Amy and Rouge recognized her as Gala the Serpent. She was a tall person, with lime green skin and black markings on her. Her appearance changed from a simple village girl in dirty robe, as she now wore leather armor over her dress and held scary looking mace in her hand…and both of our heroines had to admit it suited her better sine it corresponded well with her rough character they recognized when she first helped them, while handing them new clothes and fake bonding amulets.

"No. We aren't here for revenge, and we need to repay our favor first. Take Miss Amy and Miss Rouge to the camels. We will follow shortly." Replied Claw, as he made his way toward the group of enemy soldiers who clearly wanted to stay and fight…well…they would change their mind when they will see him.

"I don't understand…" Started Amy but was quickly cut short by Serpent girl.

"We will talk later. For now, know that we will take you to your friends." Replied Gala the Serpent as she began to led them through the battlefield. It was all happening so fast that both the pink hedgehog and ivory bat had trouble to comprehend everything at once…did they just heard that they will reunite with their friends? Just like that?

"I suppose it's good to have hope sometimes" Amy could hear Rouge say behind her back, as she finally could smile with her own relief. Maybe what the oracle said wasn't a lie after all…

* * *

The onslaught continued. They didn't knew how long it was, but their adversary clearly didn't had any intention of stopping anytime soon. Worse, since the metal minions showed, dodging became more and more troublesome and both of them had to split up for bigger survival chances. No matter what they did they just couldn't outsmart this stranger who led them to this place. Just as he tried to catch his breath, Knuckles the Echidna heard a little sound of moving rubble behind his back. Whirling in time he was able to jump to the side to avoid sharp scimitar falling on his head, as it hit the hard stone surface.

"Grrr...damn robot." He growled and punched the machine in the face, beheading it. He might not have his full strength but he still had his sharp knuckles and experience. Grabbing the scimitar, he decided it's time to find Tails. He hoped, that the twin tailed fox was still alive, since it seemed that sorcerer choose him the younger one for his target first…which wasn't good. Just as he was about to exit the small cave he hid in, a shadow showed up at the entrance.

_Another robot._ – Thought the red guardian, as he assaulted the new adversary with the sharp sword only to be meet with surprised voice.

"Whoaa…Knux man, chill out, It's me!" Yelled Sonic the Hedgehog, who barely avoided being stabbed to death by the sharp blade. Looking dumbfounded, Knuckles let the sword fall to the ground as he hugged the annoying blue speedster. Quickly realizing what he was doing he quickly put him down while embarrassed.

"Sorry. Didn't expect you to show up." He said as he took the fallen scimitar into his hands again. It would probably be useful for some more time, since those robots still lurked around.

"Yeah…say…where is Tails?" Asked Sonic, looking around for his young buddy, concern clearly showing in his emerald colored eyes. He hoped nothing bad happened to him.

"Probably eluding that magician who attacked us…what's going on Sonic? Where are we?" Questioned the champion of angel island as he looked around for signs of their missing companion. He wouldn't want to be held responsible if something happened to him even if it was HIS idea to split up.

"I'll explain later…we need to find Tails and Kirlan." Replied the blue blur as he began to speed in the direction, a small beam of light shoot up…probably the place where fight raged on.

"Who the hell is Kirlan?" Asked Knuckles, but was only meet with a serious stare from Sonic, that clearly told him "later". Shuddering his shoulders they quickly made their way to where the fight was clearly going on. It didn't took them much time to near the battlefield as they quickly disposed of any robot that came their way…at least Sonic did, since Knuckles was only assisting with his sword, while complaining his lack of power. When they finally had Kirlan in their sight, the priest was assaulting a rock that tails hid behind. Face of the old cat was devoid of any emotion, as if only his task was important.

"Stop right there!" Yelled Sonic, catching his attention, but instead of replying, the old cat, who was also a high lord of this world, pointed his staff at the new enemy releasing beams of energy. He clearly didn't knew who he was dealing with as Sonic speed easily past them all and kicked the guy right in the stomach, sending him flying and crashing into nearby boulder with a grunt of pain.

"Sonic!" The blue blur heard Tails voice, as the twin tailed fox ran up to him, clearly missing his blue hero and at the same time glad he didn't had to elude the onslaught any longer. Grinning. Sonic showed him a thumb up but then all three of them heard the voice of their enemy, which quickly cut their chatter.

"Fools. You will bring more wars to this world." Stated simply the old cat in low and tired voice, as he got himself up. Seeing as he was clearly outnumbered and no match for the blue hedgehog, his face showed clear displeasure. With those words their enemy began to slowly fade, as if it was only a mirage…but they all knew how dangerous of an adversary this guy is, seeing the state of battlefield…and something told them, they will have to face him again in near future. As the guy vanished Sonic knew that now will be time for questions.

"Okay Sonic. Maybe now you can give us some answers as to what on master emerald is going on?" Asked the red echidna again. He really was tired of stumbling around in the dark, while everything from this world tried to kill him. First black obelisks, then magicians and later robots. He needed answers and wanted them now.

"I'll tell you on the way." Replied the blue blur, as he began to walk in the direction of the city of Sandstorm…this was going to be a long tale and if he wanted to explain to them everything it would mean they will have to walk most of the way…since they needed to know how to behave if there were to enter the city.

"On the way where?" Inquired Tails, but was met with Sonic grinning wider and wider, until he finally laughed. Not knowing if their savior lost his mind, both Knuckles and Tails looked at each other. When his laughter subdued, the blue hero finally told them their destination…but it wasn't what they were expecting to hear.

"We will go to Blaze and Shadow's house. They are married you know?" Replied the hero, while stiffing more of his laugh.

"They are WHAT?!" Yelled both of them in unison, mouths hanging down and eyes bulging out.

* * *

**The story is comming together... :) Not much chapters left. To be continued...**


	11. Chapter 10

**Here goes chapter 10 :) I hope you will enjoy it :)  
**

* * *

As the lazy orb of light slowly rose up over the horizon, signaling to the inhabitants of the city of Sandstorm the start of next day, in one of the houses, a couple unlike any other slept soundly. Blaze the Cat woke up lazily, as expected, snuggling to Shadow the Hedgehog, as it was a habit of hers to do so. Gradually gaining awareness of her surroundings, she looked with her golden eyes at his sleeping form of ebony hero, while feeling slow and steady heartbeat under the palm of her right hand, which rested on black furred chest. As she continued to look, blush on her muzzle, she noticed how calmly he looked, almost content to finally rest and that was no wonder to her, seeing as he had worked very hard yesterday. Slowly getting up, she tried very hard not to wake him up, since then it all would be pointless.

_Okay…I just need him to not see me snuggling with him in the morning and maybe he will think that yesterday was just an accident_ – She thought while managing to leave the bed without him noticing. As she slowly crept through the bedroom, she whirled around looking over her shoulder for any signs of his awakening.

_Thankfully he is sleeping like dead –_ She thought to herself, as she neared the doors, until her ears heard a familiar low voice behind her back, which send chills down her spine.

"And where do you think you are going so early?" Asked Shadow, while looking at the fire cat, who stopped dead in her track. When she turned slowly around, he could see her flushed cheeks, which made her look like a child who was caught while stealing a cookie. Looking into his red eyes, she could tell he wasn't happy in the morning, as his ever present frown was showing on his lips. She amazed herself how good she became at reading his emotions.

"Out." She replied shortly, turning her back to him quickly, wanting to get out of the room before…

"Today is free of work, and I thought you like to snuggle." Said the black hedgehog, again stopping her. This was what she feared…now she will have to respond somehow to this remark but truthfully she didn't knew exactly how.

"H-how long did you know?" Asked Blaze, turning again to face her fake husband, who was looking at her with piercing stare…was he mad at her for lying to him? Panicking, she could feel her heart beating faster, as both of them silently looked at each other.

"I couldn't fall asleep and you did it during night." Answered the ultimate life form, while getting out of the bed and coming her way slowly, like a predator that would attack her any minute. Cursing herself, for being too slow in leaving the bedroom, she slowly backed until she could feel cold stone surface of wall on her back.

"S-sorry, It's just an embarrassing habit of mine…I hope you aren't mad" She said, while looking down at the floor, fidgeting nervously with her fingers. She really didn't want to go into this conversation, especially if Shadow was mad at her.

"Do I have to be mad about something?" He asked, stopping closer to her…too close, as her heart began to pound like crazy. Realizing that she showed him, that she indeed has something to hide, she flushed deep scarlet, while trying to look everywhere, but not inside Shadow's eyes.

"Y-yes…N-no…I don't know!" She snapped finally, not being able to withstand this pressure. He was too close and it was morning and she couldn't think straight anymore as her head felt light.

"For what?" She heard him ordering with voice that didn't take whatever for an answer, as he moved slightly closer. She tried to think of something but as it is with her, when emotions overwhelm her heart, all she could tell was truth.

"F-for lying to you…I pretended to be asleep yesterday…" There, she said it, as she stole a quick glance at Shadow who thankfully withdrew back, while a serious frown painted over his face. After a while, it seemed he came to some conclusion and looked her deep in eyes, serious as ever.

"Listen Blaze. I'm not mad about you wanting to keep an embarrassing secret like that, but you know how delicate our situation is. Even slightest mistake could turn everything around" He admonished her, while the anger of defiance grew inside the fire princess. With each word she could take less and less and when he finished, she heard about enough.

"I know that Shadow, but I doubt me snuggling or not is going to get us killed." She argued back, arms crossing under her chest, while her cat eyes looked challenging in his own.

"Don't be so sure. Last night I stayed awake for some more time, because I thought I heard something…a movement. Looking at our window with half closed eyelids I found out someone was spying on us. Be thankful that you snuggle in you sleep or we would be thrown out by now and Sonic still didn't show up with others." As each word left his lips, Blaze could feel her anger stopping in an instant, as cold fear run down her spine. How could she not notice anything abnormal? Were her senses growing dull?

"So…what do we do now? Did you saw who was watching us?" She questioned but Shadow only responded with a shake of his head. Honestly speaking, he had no idea, but now that they knew someone was out there, they can prepare themselves and improve their disguise…speaking of which…

"Whoever watches us will come out sooner or later. For now we need to think of improving our act." He replied with grim voice…and Blaze was sure, she wouldn't like what he will say next, because it often meant something either embarrassing or bad in general.

"You are going to snuggle when we will go to bed today. I think we should practice it to be sure it looks natural." He continued seriously as blush flourished on his cheeks, which made Blaze bulge her eyes out as her embarrassment mirrored his. Cursing this dimension, the person who was observing them, Eggman's machine, her lack of powers, Shadow and everything else, she however responded as follows.

"What do you want me to do?" She inquired, while trying to control herself from running out. She could feel the ground slipping away from underneath her feet.

"I will lay down on bed…j-just do what you always do in your sleep" Replied the ebony hero stuttering slightly as he went over to their bed and adopted comfortable position on it. With beating heart, Blaze the Cat, princess of Sol dimension, moved toward her side of the bed and did, what should be natural for her.

"Don't tense so much. Try to relax. Move your hand like this…don't choke me." She could hear Shadow say to her, as she tried her best, but somehow it seemed harder to do this while awake, than wake up like this. It continued for half-an-hour until Shadow finally decided it seems natural enough…she had to admit, he looked for every detail. Sighing to herself, while still snuggling, Blaze the Cat decided that her year's worth limit of snuggling to anyone is now empty. In her heart, she promised herself, that when she will return home she will never-ever snuggle again…well…maybe she won't, that depends how her relationship with Shadow would progress. Just as she thought a little about it, a snicker could be heard in their room…but it definitely wasn't male. Moving her head from Shadow's chest she looked up and saw two well known Mobians whose she expected the last to show up.

"Hey. Long time no see…lovebirds" Responded Rouge the Bat with a wink, while smiling at both of them. However shocked she was to see both of them like this, she concealed it greatly. Next to her stood Amy Rose, who tried to look away from them, while blushing, but she did a poor job as her timid eyes landed on both of them from time to time.

_Not again…_ - Thought Blaze, as she wanted nothing more in this moment than to hide inside some dark cave and not go out until…well…for a long time. Did any of them heard about knocking first?

* * *

"…and so, this is how the situation looks. As soon as Sonic comes back, we will proceed with the plan" Concluded the treasure huntress, as she put the stone mug down after refreshing herself with some water. All of them were gathered in the small salon at the table, while discussing everything they know. The situation seemed clear at this point but now they needed Sonic to show up…and of course he was late, along with Knuckles and Tails.

"I hope they are alright…" Began Amy, but was quickly comforted by Rouge, who put her hand on her shoulder. As each of them pondered about the whereabouts of blue blur, Shadow suddenly got up.

"We can't sit here doing nothing. I'll go and prepare our backpack, so we will be ready to depart any minute." Said Shadow reassuringly to Blaze, as he excused himself and went towards the bedroom. This action made both Amy and Rouge exchange their glances, since Shadow usually wasn't the type to tell others where he will go or what he will do…something was going on and they each decided to get to the bottom of this.

"I will go with Shadow, since he must be missing my company. On the side note…it's a nice attire you have princess but isn't it suppose to reveal _something?_" Replied Rouge, while giving Blaze kind of nasty look, while making a remark about her breast size… she wasn't jealous, she just had no reason to be nice for Blaze who got closer to her work partner...she was sure something happened between those two and she still didn't know if it was a change for better or for worse. That's why she went after the ebony hedgehog, because where better to search for information, than in the source? As soon as her wings vanished behind bedroom door, Blaze let out a low growl, which wasn't missed by Amy.

"Relax. She is just worried about Shadow…" Said Amy to her reassuringly as she began looking around the kitchen. Truth be told she wanted nothing more than to question her friend about her relationship with the black hedgehog, but she still needed to approach the subject slowly…or she would shut down and won't say anything.

"I know Amy…it's just…I don't know." Started the fire feline, looking down at herself, angry at certain annoying, big breasted ivory bat, as her complex about her own female figure kicked in.

"Anyway, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Inquired Blaze after taking a while to calm herself, as her golden eyes landed on pink hedgehog, who started to take out raw food and utensils, and putting them on kitchen table.

"Oh this? I thought, since there really is a lot of food, it would be good to prepare some meal for everyone, when Sonic comes back" Replied the heroine of Mobius, which made Blaze's ears stand up. She got good idea just about now.

"May I help you?" She asked politely, while wondering what purpose served all of those strange objects her friend took out. Didn't cooking required only pot, pan and knife?

"Of course! Two hands would do it twice as fast!" Happily exclaimed Amy, while the fire feline got up and moved forward, looking curiously at the pink hedgehog. Deciding it was too difficult for her to learn by only observing what her friend does she took a deep breath.

"I'm not actually good at cooking…do you think, you could give me some lessons? I would be grateful." Said Blaze, as she swallowed her pride. Not only had she to admit that she can't do something this basic, but also needed to ask for help…which was uncommon for her. Thankfully, her request made Amy beam with happiness.

"Of course! Stand next to me, take a knife, and follow my example." She motioned for Blaze to go by to her left side, which the lilac colored feline did. As Amy slowly began to show her the art of cooking, while explaining everything, Blaze found out it wasn't so hard. Maybe after she will improve, she would be able to cook for Shadow something both of them would enjoy… Noticing the light blush that showed on Blaze muzzle, Amy smiled knowingly to herself, as she decided it was the right time to ask.

"So…what's up with you and Shadow?" Asked the pink hedgehog in most natural voice she could muster. The feline didn't reply at first, pondering probably how much she should tell her pink friend.

"You heard it all before…we had to pretend o be married." Said Blaze, while trying to avoid the difficult talk. Truth be told, even she didn't knew how their relationship was…not to mention, how would it look when they will return to their respective dimensions….or will they even meet again. As this last though clouded her mind, she heard Amy speak to her.

"I know, I know but I'm more interested in details…we did saw you snuggle after all…even if you told us it was a training. Truthfully, before meeting up with you guys, Rouge joked about possibility of Shadow kissing someone to live…a mad idea don't you agree?" Asked Amy, while stiffing her laughter, missing the shocked expression on Blaze's face, who thought, maybe they knew about hers and Shadow's little moment, but quickly reassured herself that it was impossible and only a joke…somehow that last sentence hurt.

"Y-yeah that's certainly impossible" Said the sol emeralds guardian, as she concentrated on peeling another potato. It really wasn't as easy as it seemed, even if the small vegetables resembled cubes.

"So?" Asked Amy, who still didn't got her earlier question. She wouldn't let it slide and Blaze already knew it. Sighing to herself, the lilac feline decided to tell her friend truth while omitting most…embarrassing situations.

"Honestly? I don't know Amy. We talked a lot with each other, had our share of embarrassing moments…and I know now what you meant about Shadow losing what was important to him. There is some kind of bond between us, but I really don't know what to say about all of this…it's the first time I feel like this around someone. Where do I put the potato?" Said the fire princess, which made Amy ponder slightly about all of those new information. Her friend obviously couldn't determine what she felt for the black hedgehog…but should she help her out?

"Put it in this empty pot. About Shadow…how do you feel around him?" She asked innocently, seeing as the lilac colored cat blushed deep scarlet. Amy had to admit that the fire princess could be cute, when not angry and hiding her emotions while trying to act tough. In her eyes, she was a perfect match for someone like Shadow, now that she thought about it.

"It's complicated… I was always independent and a loner, but around him I feel safe, calm… when he is close to me I feel like everything is going to be okay and all of my duties…they don't bother me so much. I often find myself thinking about him, if he is happy or angry or tired. I'll admit, I want to learn how to cook because of him, since it's bothering me…how everything will look when we will go back. What do you make of it?" Poured her feelings out the fire princess, as Amy soft smile grew wider. The pink hedgehog already knew everything, because often had she felt this way around Sonic, even if he and Sally were together. Had she not took training lessons to become stronger to be able to keep up with him in her own way? Deciding not to beat around bush she looked in her friends eyes while serious as never seen before.

"I think you are in love." She said, making Blaze's eyes grow wide, as she cut the potato in half, nearly cutting her fingers off.

"N-no. I doubt it's as s-serious as l-l-love. B-besides I doubt S-shadow would f-feel the same way." Stuttered the princess, as her imagination ran wild, showing her random images of happy life with Shadow the Hedgehog…the marriage and events after that…it really freaked her out, even if it filled her belly with warm and fuzzy feeling.

"It's something you need to find out on your own. Just don't miss the chance so you will not regret it later." Concluded Amy, as she continued peeling the potatoes, while with the corner of her eye she looked at her royal friend, who fell silent, probably thinking about all she had heard.

_I know you will do the right thing. –_ Thought the pink hedgehog to herself, while silently hoping Shadow DID feel the same way about Blaze. She would need to somehow ask him later about it, since she didn't want Blaze to end up with broken heart…or maybe she will ask Rouge who was probably now doing her share of information gathering.

* * *

As she entered the bedroom, she quickly gathered information from her surroundings like she had a habit of doing. Shadow was looking through the drawers, while getting everything they would need. She noticed that he took out a small bottle with a pleasant scent to it, that couldn't be mistaken for anything else in the world…she knew what it was, since she often used it.

_I wonder why does he pack the massage oil… _- She thought to herself, as she closed the door behind herself. Maybe something did happen between the two of them after all, but she would never believe they went as far as massage each other. Leaning on the stone wall, she looked at her G. U. N. partner, who continued his task unhindered by anything, like he always did.

"So… did you enjoy your little vacation?" She asked while observing her companion with curious eyes. She knew how hard it was to extract information from him, since you really had to read between lines of his every response. Thankfully he never lied unless needed.

"It wasn't so bad. Simply work" Said Shadow, but Rouge already knew that he enjoyed it and that more than "work" happened. Deciding on her next approach, she then said as follows.

"It's a pity you got paired with that annoying feline. I wonder why you didn't leave her alone on the desert. It must have been hard on you." She said with fake sympathy while waiting for Shadow's reaction.

"She isn't annoying. If not for her, I wouldn't be here. I would like it, if you didn't say anything bad about her." He replied, and the Ivory bat already got her next answer. If Shadow was protecting someone like this even from bad words, then it definitely was something serious. As emotionless as he tried to be, he was a honest and straight person that would never lie about anything this important.

"You act like you like her." Stated simply Rouge, as she furrowed her eyebrows with false gesture of reprimanding him.

"I didn't say that." Corrected her the black hedgehog, while obviously not wanting to give any answer about this topic and Rouge could feel her time grew short, seeing as he quickened his pace while packing.

"You also didn't say that you don't. We have been partners for some time now Shadow, so I will ask you honestly. How do you feel about her?" Inquired Rouge, and seeing as a light blush crept at Shadows cheeks, she knew she hit a jackpot.

"What do you want me to say Rouge?" He said, stopping his movement and looking at the ivory bat with his red eyes, while folding his hands on his chest. He really didn't like when she was so interested in anything going around him, but already knew she always meant well…unless some precious gem was in sight. After all of those missions he trusted her, but would it be okay for him to be open about the subject he alone wasn't certain?

"I'm just curious about the two of you. And I'll remind you, even if you will stay silent I'm sure Amy would get something out of fire princess." Said Rouge with beautiful smile. Truthfully, if it was anyone else she wouldn't even ask but she was worried about Shadow, since she knew a male heart like no one else. If he started to fall for that cat, she would see to it, he wouldn't get heartbroken. In her eyes, he already got too much misery on his back and no more was needed. Seeing as he sighed to himself, she looked intently at him…he would either shut down and won't say anything or would say everything.

"I don't know. There seems to be some kind of bond between us, but I can feel it's more than friendship. How far does it go I'm not sure, but I plan to cut it short anyway. I'm ageless remember?" Replied the ebony hedgehog, but this wasn't what the white bat wanted to hear as displeasure showed on her face. It looked like he was again hiding in his cave, not wanting to pursue any sort of relationships and she wouldn't let him do that no matter what.

"Again with this ageless argument of yours. Shadow, didn't I once ask you whether it's better to live some happy moments or not live them at all? Remember what you told me then?" She inquired as he looked down at the floor. She was sure, he remembered it perfectly clear since good memory seemed to be one of ultimate-life form strong points. Folding her arms under her chest, she looked at him sternly, while expecting an answer.

"I'll…think about this later. Now we have our mission to complete." Said the black hedgehog, reassuming his task. He wasn't going to admit it to himself how he felt but Rouge already knew everything. If Shadow told her, he would think about something then it was enough, and she will later make both him and Blaze admit how they feel for each other…if she felt like him that is.

_Looks like I owe princess one –_ She though, thinking that maybe it was time to stop being hostile towards the fire feline. After all that cat managed to do something Rouge was trying for a long time and that was to get Shadow out of his shell. Now she will have to oversee the situation so nothing will go wrong. Just as she was thinking that, said feline entered the bedroom. Eyeing Rouge with hostility, clear jealousy in eyes upon entrance, she quickly addressed Shadow.

"Sonic and the rest showed up. Is everything ready?" As soon as the question left her lips, Shadow showed her their bag, while not uttering any words. In her eyes it seemed to contain more than their normal clothes, but she would inquire about it later.

"Then let's not keep the blue boy waiting." Happily exclaimed Rouge, as she exited the room, while smiling toward the fire princess. It surprised Blaze slightly…she was expecting the ivory bat to make fun of her somehow and not being…nice? Shoving her thoughts aside the three of them entered the main room, where the rest of their friends gathered. She also noticed how strange Knuckles and Tails looked at both her and Shadow...wondering at the same time what Sonic told them.

"Sweet! Now we are all together!" Said Sonic loudly, which got most of them to smile, save for Shadow and Blaze, who didn't react in that way because of things this simple…still…they were glad everyone was safe. Suddenly, Knuckles and Tails approached the fire feline and black hedgehog, while looking uncertain about something.

"Uh…congratulations on starting family" Said Tails and was quickly followed by the red echidna shaking his head in approval, while also looking from a set of ruby eyes to golden ones. This action of them, made both Shadow and Blaze mouths open in surprise as heavy blush came across their cheeks. Looking over the shoulders of both twin tailed fox and red guardian, they noticed Sonic, who had a time of his life, while nearly crying from laughter. Noticing something was off about this situation, both Tails and Knuckles whirled around to see the blue blur nearly on the floor. As four of them growled inside, realizing they were tricked, they neared Sonic, who now looked up at them, laughter barely contained.

"S-sorry guys, it was just…to funny to pass" He tried to say, while avoiding four pair of hands who lunged at him. Thankfully he still had his speed, while they didn't

"Just wait till I get my powers back" Said Shadow angrily, as the other three agreed with him while Sonic gulped down nervously. Seeing this exchange both Amy and Rouge could only shake their heads in consternation.

"R-relax it was only an innocent joke…" He stared to say, but was quickly meet with Shadow coming his way, fist shut tight and eyes blazing with anger. Everyone was shocked to see him like this, especially Blaze because there really was no need to react this strongly to little immature joke.

"S-shadow…?" Started the blue blur, but the ebony hedgehog went past him and threw his arms through the window while at the same time a surprised yelp could be heard. Tensing his muscles, he pulled inside gray rabbit with full force he could muster and now held him by the cuff of his neck against the wall.

"D-demons! Unhand me at once!" Yelled the annoying grey rabbit who seemed to follow Shadow while he worked on the farm. His accent gone and a way more sharp look in his eyes now, he certainly didn't seem like a village idiot now. He expected a spy, but not this guy…if not for his military training, he would probably not sense him at all.

"Great. Now what?" Asked Knuckles, who was first to get his voice back, as it was usual situation for him to act like Shadow did right now, since he already held some stranger that way, while threatening him.

"Now we will silence him" Replied Shadow, voice devoid of any emotions, as he eyed the spy who now paled in his face. It seemed the hedgehog really wanted to teach this guy a lesson he would never forget.

"Shadow, be gentle…" Said quietly Blaze, not wanting for him to be violent like this, as Shadow punched the poor guy with full force in his face, knocking his crooked teeth's out and making him fall unconscious.

"I asked you to be gentle…" started to complain Blaze, while furrowing her eyebrows but shortly as she could feel someone's hand on her shoulder. It was Rouge.

"Trust me sweetie…that was VERY gentle of Shadow." Reassured her the white bat, which made Blaze look puzzled at her behavior…was she comforting her? Did she hit herself in the head or something? Honestly speaking, the feline was somewhat freaked out, but also suspicious. Rouge wouldn't act like this if she didn't planned something. Shoving her hand aside, she went to stand closer to Amy.

"Okay, we have one unconscious guy on the ground and no idea how to get back home. Any clues what we should do now?" Asked the blue blur, while actually expecting the lack of any answer, but was surprised when Amy voiced her thoughts.

"Actually we have Sonic. Me and Rouge were helped by the banished. They sent us here to wait for you and If you showed back then bring you to them. They wish to ask you something but didn't go into details." Said the pink heroine as she began to make sure that everything was ready for their incoming trip.

"Can we trust them?" Asked Blaze, while not sure if they should move like that, since it could be a trap…but staying here was also out of option.

"It doesn't look like we have much choice. Give me some time and I will quickly build some means of transportation." Said Tails who analyzed their situation, while looking around the house for needed components, his brain working fast as ever. They couldn't stay here and they didn't knew where to go. While it was safe with Sonic, in case of fight even he wasn't sure his blue hero would be able to protect them all, so they would need something quick.

"Okay guys, rest for now, gather you things. We are going for a trip!" Concluded Sonic, to whose decision no one argued, as each of them prepared to depart. It seemed their journey finally went somewhere…but was it closer to their home?

* * *

In the great desert not many things happened and if they did, it was usually an occasional sandstorm or a merchant caravan going from town to town…other things were just non-existent. Today however was different as the rumbling sound filled the air and a boat drifted through the sea of sand. The construction was crude but functional, as the boat shaped vehicle with a running track in the middle of it made their way forward. The source of movement was of course no one other than Sonic the Hedgehog, who now ran at mediocre speed, as if afraid to destroy the delicate vehicle.

"Sonic express, coming through!" Yelled the blue blur when they went past a dumbfounded guy on a camel, so quick that no one in this world would be able to catch them even if he tried.

"Good work Tails. With this we can get to the meeting point two times as fast!" Said Amy, praising the young fox, who in response scratched the back of his head nervously. Truthfully, he wasn't at all happy about his construction, but seeing as there wasn't a lot of materials to work with, he was glad he was able to build it. He just hoped that Sonic won't try to test its speed limit, since if it broke, then they would be stranded in the middle of the desert. As each of the heroes was left to their own thoughts, Shadow noticed that Blaze was for some time now, frowning in the direction of the city of Sandstorm

"You okay?" He inquired quietly, but the cat didn't reply right away, as her eyes showed hidden sadness behind them, and he really didn't like when she was sad. Besides, should she be happy that they were going to finally do something instead of wasting time?

"It's strange…I should feel glad we are on the move but somehow it feels like I'm leaving behind something important…" She whispered, not expecting Shadow to understand her complicated feelings while even she had trouble to comprehend them fully.

"I understand. There are a lot memories left in there." He said after a while. Truthfully he also would be missing their home, as his red eyes looked in its general direction. It wasn't much but he really enjoyed a simple life like this.

"You know…it's not a bad idea to have a home…a nice place to relax, away from everyone else." Added the black hero, while observing her eyes curiously. He didn't knew why, but he wanted to cheer her up a little as seeing her sad bothered some part of him. It made him feel uneasy inside.

"That's what I will be missing. When we return to our dimensions I will have my duty and you will probably have your missions…" Replied sadly the lilac colored cat, as she grew tired. It was hot on this desert and she already missed even the shade that their small house provided. She wished she could hug Shadow in time like this, but knew it would probably give both of them awkward stares from their friends who would see this gesture as something more than a simple hug. It was strange to her, how people could find hints about others only because they were close to each other.

"No one says we can't…" Started Shadow softly but was interrupted by Knuckles yelling loudly that they are nearing their destination. As both of them looked ahead they saw a lot of carts, while armored people with weapons were walking here and there. Was this the meeting point? It looked more like a military base. When the boat stopped some yards before shocked faces of two guards who now pointed their swords at the team of heroes they could hear how much life was around…it was unlike the quiet atmosphere of the city, where everyone looked at each other suspiciously.

"Well…now what?" Asked Tails, eyeing the tip of sharp metal weapons pointed at them. Thankfully, the guards seemed to relax at the sight of both Amy and Rouge, and sheathed their swords quickly. As one of them came towards them, he said with stuttering voice. He was young…to young in Amy's eyes to be a soldier.

"W-welcome M-miss A-A-Amy. a-are t-t-those your f-friends?" As the pink hedgehog replied with the nod of her head, the same guard turned to his friend, eyes shining with pride to be able to do something.

"G-g-g-go, g-g-get the g-g-g-g-g-g-general." Said the young soldier, as his friend speed into the camp. Having a while to themselves, each of our heroes watched the makeshift base with different thoughts about it, but one question was the same for all of them: Why did the banished wanted to meet up with them here? It didn't took long for the young guard to return, while a big bear followed them. Upon seeing the seven mobians, his mouth showed a big smile.

"Welcome!" he said happily, but his eyes showed clear hints that he wasn't as carefree as he appeared to be.

"We were waiting for you. Follow me to the main cart and I'll explain everything. Can't talk out here can we?" continued the general, while turning around and motioned with his massive claw for them to follow, which they did, while the two guards eyed them with curiosity painted all over their faces…

* * *

When they entered the biggest cart, they noticed it was mostly empty, save for a round table in its center and two more persons, who both were either known to others directly or from their stories.

"Welcome friends."Said Gold the Monkey, as he motioned for them to come closer. He wore a plate armor, and a spear at his back. Next to him stood Gala the Serpent who courtly nodded while greeting them. As each of our heroes wore a puzzled stare, Sonic was the first to ask his questions.

"Okay…can we like, get some info about what the heck is going on?" Voiced the blue blur, as each of their friends fell silent. It would be bad if all of them started talking at once and Sonic usually had a knack for these things. Looking into his emerald eyes, the merchant who turned out to be one of the banished eyed them all as if getting ready to speak.

"The banished are going to war. We plan to storm the fortress of seven sandstones, and while I know it's rude of me to ask you this, I know what must be done. We need assistance from you mister Sonic…" Started the guy, but Sonic already started shaking his head in disapproval. It was good they wanted to fight for their world, but the blue hero didn't want to participate in all of this if it could put his friends in danger.

"Whoa, slow down dude. I appreciate the thought but I really need to do other things…Me and my friends need to find our way home and…" Replied the blue blur, but this time Claw the Bear took voice, cutting him shortly.

"That's why we are asking for your help stranger. The fortress is not only a place where high lord Kirlan resides but also a place where all knowledge of this world is gathered. If there are some clues about a way back to your home, then it would be there." Said the massive guy, while looking at Rouge and Amy with a smile. Before, he always thought the banished weren't doing the right thing but couldn't motivate anyone…it all changed however when this blue hedgehog began openly opposing the army. He saw his people regain hope as each day more rumors came into the village. After that everything began to change for better and even he was able to again wield his axe and rush to battle even if he felt old.

"What do you want me to do?" Asked the blue hedgehog, while eyeing the map on the table, which showed fortress schematics. With things like that he might reconsider helping those guys, as long as his friends won't be put in danger.

"It's easy. Seeing your speed we came up with the most simple plan. The fortress is unreachable save for a lone drawbridge. All we need you to do is to rush in there and keep it open and after our soldiers will cross it, then we will manage somehow." Said Gala the Serpent who looked doubtful at the blue hedgehog. She didn't believe the rumors fully as no one could be as fast as he was described. Still, it wasn't her decision to make so she didn't question others, especially their leader.

"Couldn't you just send a spy inside?" Asked Knuckles, overlooking the map. By his experience it was truly a remarkable fortress but there always was a weak point somewhere if you looked closely enough.

"That's the problem. This fortress is full of robots who can easily determine if you are friend or foe. In the past we tried approaching it under cover or even from the sky, but we couldn't get as far as to see the drawbridge. With no means to fight back against this tyranny, we slowly lost our hope and will." Replied the monkey, as his and Shadow's eyes meet. He noticed the black hedgehog staring at him suspiciously for some time now but wasn't going to inquire about it…not now anyway.

"Okay. If it's okay with everyone I will help you fight under condition that my friends won't be exposed to any danger." Replied Sonic, but as soon as he uttered those words he could hear complaining behind him. Turning around he faced his friend, each smiling at him.

"Don't try to hog all the fun blue boy, we can still fight and if we lack in physical strength some of us can build war machines." Said Rouge earning nods of approval from everyone around. Moved, Sonic couldn't utter a word to this, as he forgot how brave his friends could be at times like these, even without their powers. Turning around to face the three natives he smiled his usual grin, while showing a thumbs up.

"You've got your help" He said, earning smiles from both the monkey and the bear. It seemed everything was finally coming together as a lone ray of hope materialized before the seven heroes.

* * *

It was a late and cloudless night, when lone silhouette overlooked the camp from a nearby dune. Things were coming together at least and if everything went smoothly they will soon be able to get to their world back.

_Home… -_ Thought Shadow the Hedgehog, as he wondered how much time did pass there. He hoped that Eggman's plan failed in some way and that they won't go back to destroyed world, but everything was still uncertain. What especially filled his thoughts was the image of certain lilac furred princess. What would happen to both of them? Will she simply go back to her world and they would never meet? Honestly, he was worried about this, it saddened him deeply as he remembered every moment they spent together. Of course he could always use chaos control to see her but would he find time for it? Sighing heavily to himself, he cursed his luck.

_Why couldn't I feel like this for any other girl from my world? _– He pondered, as he still wasn't able to fully comprehend why did he felt like this. He knew what those feelings were but it didn't made all of it any easier. Did she felt the same way? Were his feeling genuine or a product of some programming made by professor Gerald? So much questions and not even one answer. He heard this was complicated but it was simply ridiculous how one feeling could make you both sad, happy and confused. As he was thinking about all of this, he heard silent footsteps behind himself. Turning around he saw the merchant…the banished Gold the Monkey who stopped by his side.

"Couldn't sleep?" Asked the guy, actually didn't expecting any reply from the black hero. Both of them looked over the camp for some time, until Gold decided if he wanted to get the hedgehog to respond, he should cut the small talk.

"I'm sorry that I lied to you, on the first day we meet. I hope you and miss Blaze aren't mad about it and I didn't caused you any problems." Sincerely apologized the guy, which made Shadow look at him with puzzled expression. It wasn't common for others to simply seek him out just to apologize for something this trivial.

"I understand in needed to be done. Besides I thought there was something fishy about you when we first meet." Replied the black hedgehog with red highlights as his sight went toward the tent where the girls stayed in, as his thought returned to certain cat. It was quiet now, that people were trying to sleep before tomorrow's big battle.

"True. Sometimes we do things we really don't want to, for the sake of others. I assume it's like that too in your world?" Questioned Gold the Monkey to which Shadow nodded his head as a reply. After a while of silence the ebony hero looked with the corner of his eye at the guy.

"Then why are you still hiding something?" He asked, earning shocked look from the banished, which quickly turned into chuckle and then loud laughter. When the monkey finally composed himself, smile still present, he began to go towards the camp.

"We all have some words that can't be said yet mister Shadow…and they can't be revealed yet, because we fear rejection from others, but they will come a time when we all will have to face our future." Said Gold the Monkey as he began to walk away, leaving Shadow to ponder at his last words. As he was thinking on them he could hear one last sentence from the guy.

"You should get a decent rest…otherwise you won't be able to protect her." Said the monkey walking into the camp and into his tent. Somehow his last words shoot through Shadow like lightning as the image of losing Maria played in his head. He wouldn't let a situation like that repeat ever again. Clenching his fists he made his way towards his tent. He needed to rest and after getting out of this dimension he will first make sure Blaze's world is safe and then…he will tell her his feelings, no matter what she will say back…

* * *

**TBC! Chapter 11 might be a little later, since I plan to take extra time writing it...need to finish things in a big way afterall :)**

**PS. This chapter really gave me a lot of trouble...had to rewrite it 2 times,first because of OOC Blaze who wanted to went on a picnic in the desert (WTF?!) and second because OOC Shadow was acting like Silver during a very serious talk xD**

**PS2. As per Shadow of dimentio review, I scared Sonic for you, sorry no kicking his butt...for now...mwahahaha :)**


	12. Chapter 11

**Finally...chapter 11. It took me slightly longer to write this as I tried to fit A LOT inside...and there really was a whole lot of content needed which was planned from the very start. Hope you will enjoy. It is time to turn everything upside down :)**

* * *

It was well past dawn when the army of banished gathered their camp and went on their way towards the …well…maybe calling it an army was a little too much of a word, as it consisted of not even fifty people. However small the force was, no one could say that they were afraid about the task that awaited them, as every soldier, be it man, woman or even child wore serious expression about them. As they overcame the difficulties of harsh desert they traveled fast, not stopping to even look at curious and scarred faces of citizens whose towns or villages they passed. Only one goal was set before them and it was the fortress of seven sandstones, whose highest tower could be seen in the distance, drawing near with every step they made. It took them some time, but they finally went there and set the hidden camp, while their enemies didn't expect anything. In one of the tents, a certain black hedgehog got himself ready, while changing from all his desert garments into his white gloves and jet shoes…while it was a small thing, it felt good to him, to be able to wear the clothing he was used to. Putting his last inhibitor ring around his wrist, he made sure everything was ready once more, especially the sharp scimitars he got from the banished.

"I'm here like you asked me to." Announced her presence certain feline as the ebony hedgehog whirled slowly around to see her standing, now fully clothed in her usual purple robe, white pants, gloves and boots with heels. He had to admit, this suited her better than that revealing outfit she was to wear when undercover, save for hair which he preferred to be down instead in a ponytail. He noticed that she now carried a pair of two short daggers by her side, probably a weapon of choice to defend herself from enemy.

"I see you didn't wasted time when getting ready." He noticed, motioning with his head to her weapon earning a small huff from her. They actually had a little argument during their travel, since he didn't want her to participate in battle. Being a fiery fighter with experience, she of course easily won the argument since he couldn't say she didn't know how to handle herself…that, and she threatened she will do it with or without his knowledge. It was no wonder he preferred the first option.

"With all that's going on? Better be ready now than sorry later. Now…what did you wanted to talk to me about?" She inquired as her gaze looked curiously at him, her eyes betraying she was preparing herself for another argument since she already got used to him being stubborn.

"Listen Blaze...I already know that I can't change your mind about this battle. But I want you to stay close to me at all times." He said, while wishing she wouldn't read more to it. He was simply concerned for her…maybe a little more than his other friends but he wouldn't admit it to himself.

"I can do it, but why?" Asked the fire feline, while crossing her arms, as her heart fluttered a little. Secretly she hoped he would say it's because she was important to him or something along those lines…just something that would made her sure that the strange feelings inside her were also present in him when it concerned her person.

"The mission goal was to get the sol emeralds to save your world. It would be pointless if something happened to you now." He replied, while trying to mask the real reason why he wanted her to be near…it was more personal and he knew it already.

"I understand." Nodded courtly Blaze as she prepared to exit their tent hiding disappointment that for a split second showed in her eyes. Guess it wouldn't be that easy to get her answers.

"We should go to the main tent. The battle is about to begin." Replied the fire princess, as she exited the tent, followed by Shadow the Hedgehog who steeled his nerves, shoving all excess thoughts aside…this was the time for missions not for brooding about personal feelings to a certain lilac furred cat. Looking with his ruby red eyes at the top of dark tower…the throne room, where their enemy was located, he hoped nothing would go wrong this time.

* * *

As the heavy march of army neared their destination, general Claw looked to his right side at the figure of blue hedgehog. He still had his doubts that this person would be able to help them…but he was their only hope. If not for him, nothing would have started and that alone made the general to put his trust in him.

"You ready for this boy?" Asked the general for what seemed a hundredth time, while looking slightly concerned. There were people under his command and if something failed he was sure not all of them would be coming back. Worse…he feared there would be repercussions from high lord if they lost today. Moving his muscled arm up, a signal to stop the army, he eyed the blue blur in anticipation.

"No problem dude. I just need to go in there, open the bridge and keep it that way until you cross, right?" Replied Sonic, while stretching his legs and getting ready to run which made Claw look puzzled at him. Could the blue hedgehog be as fast as the rumors said? He would soon find out.

"Yes. Okay go." He replied shortly and soon yelped in surprise as the blue blur shoot right through the sand leaving behind himself a big cloud. Mouth agape, the general needed to comprehend first what actually happened, before he was able to rise his hand to shout next command. Never in his life had he seen something so amazing and so fast…maybe they had a chance after all.

"CHARGE!" He yelled as he and everyone in the army went down the dune in the direction of drawbridge… everything will be decided in the next five minutes. With the corner of his eye he looked at the blue hedgehog friends…he heard them say that they couldn't use their powers and actually wondered how this battle would look if they could…it was a frightening image, that much was certain.

* * *

Sonic the Hedgehog was running at full speed in the direction of the stone drawbridge. Spotting guards near the entrance, he quickly spin-dashed them, before the poor robots could even rise their swords and moved forward like nothing happened. He knew, that the more he will destroy, the better for his friends. Passing through the stone construction, he was surprised how quickly it began to rise and it was no wonder to him that the banished had problem getting inside.

_Now…where would I be if I was a mechanism that controls the bridge. _– He thought to himself, as he passed the gates which nearly shut before him, sliding under the heavy iron grate. Inside, he found himself on the spacious courtyard with fancy looking gold statue in the middle. Somehow it reminded him of Babylon garden, but it was no time for sight-seeing, as he made his way left while avoiding the group of robots from his right. He saw a staircase there, that led up to the wall and he knew from experience, that if there is going to be a bridge controlling mechanism it would probably be above the main gate. Speeding at the speed of sound he threw some robots of the walls into the big, bottomless chasm on the outside of the fortress and quickly found the object he sought…a levers to raise both iron grate and one to lower the bridge.

_Perfect! –_ He thought and pulled on them while seeing with the corner of his eye that the bridge started to go down until it opened fully. Not all that he needed to do was to protect it…and then the fun begins. Just as he was thinking that a large group of robots started to enter through the entrance, their goal probably was to make the bridge rise again. Grinning he started running up to them…it was time to have some old fashioned action while smashing robots…now, if only a mad scientist would show up, his day would feel complete.

* * *

While dual wielding his sharp swords, Shadow the Hedgehog swiftly cut through the crowd of robots on the courtyard as if getting rid of annoying insects. It wasn't a challenge for him, as he had enough experience to overcome some rusty machines. After all he was the ultimate life form…still… their numbers seemed endless and he knew it better than anyone that one moment of not paying attention could result in serious injury for either him or one of his allies.

"We need to get to the main tower!" He heard Gold the Monkey yell through to him, as he looked how the fire princess fared. To his shock, he saw that she danced with the sharp daggers, cutting her enemies from safe distance…it reminded him more of art than of fighting style, but seeing as it was very efficient, some of his fears for her safety were put to rest. Looking ahead he saw that his friends were steady entering the tower. That was their plan, to get out of the open space into more safer interior, where they could barricade themselves and move to the high lord chambers. At this point all of the banished managed to go through the drawbridge but the bulk of their army still would need to stay outside to ensure safe way back and that no more robots would enter after them to cut their escape route in case of emergency. Entering Blaze's field of vision, as he cut another rusty robot in half, he motioned to her that they need to get inside now. They didn't need to say words as each of them understood one another. With precision they made their way inside the tower over the dead bodies of countless robots…

"Okay. Looks like everyone is here." Shadow heard the general grumbling, and looked at everyone with his red eyes. All of his allies from Mobius Prime seemed to be doing all right…a little scratch on knuckles gloves but nothing really to worry about. It seemed that the Monkey and his wife were also present, and this made him wonder if they really were married as the guy first told him when he introduced himself…probably not, since there were no bonding amulets on them, but this was not his concern. Looking at Blaze he noticed she had her hand around her waist. Alarmed he quickly went to her, forcefully removing her hand, but careful enough not to cause her any pain.

"What happened?" He inquired silently, worry evident in his voice. Thankfully it looked like only her robe got a small cut and there was no sign of bleeding. While blushing, his eyes met hers for a second but he didn't said anything more and just turned around, pretending nothing happened. This however got Blaze to smile a little on the inside…while he was overreacting she was glad that he cared, even if maybe a little too much.

"I'm okay Shadow" She reassured him with soft whisper, so their friends wouldn't hear her…it would be embarrassing to act like this in front of them and would probably gave them strange ideas. Unknown to her, both Amy and Rouge showed knowing smiles, seeing this private exchange between the two of them.

"Okay big dude, now what?" Asked Sonic looking around this place. The interior wasn't anything fancy, a lot of broken walls and junk piles lying around. Obviously, the person that lived there didn't use the lower parts. He noticed a long staircase in the center, which would probably lead them towards the top…where their enemy is probably waiting.

"This staircase would led us to the high lord. We need to keep moving if we want to stop it before anything bad happens to our soldiers." Replied Claw and started to head forward, while being followed by others. Each of them, with weapon ready slowly ascended the floors while successfully managing to overcome any robot that came their way…well…Sonic did most of the job. As they made their way up, their numbers dwindled, since more soldiers stayed behind to ensure a safe route on lower floors and soon only selected few remained. It didn't take them long to get near the top, as all of them stood now before massive doors made out of pure gold, which made Rouge look in awe.

"It's in here…" Said sadly Claw the Bear as he put his hands on the door handle, hesitant about opening them. Turning to his companions he looked at everyone with serious eyes. The group consisted of all the strangers, Gold the Monkey, Gala the Serpent and himself. Obviously he didn't like that, the strangers were fighting their fight but it wasn't his decision to made and he knew it.

"You all don't need to go inside…Kirlan is a powerful magician and it would be a very dangerous fight…" He started with grim voice, but quickly stopped seeing the determined eyes of everyone present. Shaking his head, he knew there really was no stopping any of them from going there…they already went past the point of getting out now.

"Don't worry dude, we can manage. We always do." Said Sonic reassuringly, his ever present grin on his face, as he brimmed with confidence and pushed the door open to reveal their final opponent…it was time for their last battle, one that would determine what would happen next.

* * *

Sitting on the throne inside the chamber made of pure gold was a lone old cat with moustache similar to that of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, his mind clouded by heavy thoughts, eyes glued to the floor as he was thinking over everything that happened in those recent days. When the heavy doors opened, he saw the strangers that destroyed everything. Most of them were unknown to him but he recognized the blue hedgehog, the one that interrupted him last time, breaking his spell of mirage walking. This time everything would be different since now, all of his powers were at his disposal. Slowly getting up he made his way towards them, the sound of his footsteps dulled by the purple carpet. No words were needed to say, he already knew what they wanted and he would not let them interfere with everything any more than they did already.

"So…we meet again, big moustache." Said Sonic as he, and all of his friends made their way inside, while the doors of pure gold shut behind them, trapping everyone present inside. High lord Kirlan was never one to speak much, since the earliest days of his life and as he had in his habit, he moved his staff forward, while sending attacks similar to Shadow's chaos spears around the room, scattering his opponents to all sides.

"Whoa. This guy is more serious than Shadow!" Yelled Knuckles, earning stern stare from Sonic's black counterpart. As he took out his big axe, he hid behind one of seven big pillars that encircled the room, while waiting for his chance to attack. He wasn't one to jump and rush, not when he couldn't use his guardian powers.

"We need a plan. Rouge, Tails try to distract him from above, the rest, be on standby while I'll get his attention. If you see any opening then charge at him but don't be reckless." Yelled Sonic to his companions as he speed around the room, while avoiding beams of energy that came his way. Just as he was close to the high lord a wave of energy shoot from his opponent body, sending the blue blur flying across the room and onto the floor.

"Man…Is it me or he is way stronger than last time?" Asked Sonic, getting to his feet, only to discover debris flying towards him. Ducking to the side he stole glance around the room only to see that both Rouge and Tails had a hard time to avoid countless flying projectiles that were sent their way.

"This is insane! This guy can make even Silver telekinesis look like a cheap trick!" Complained Tails as bigger chunks were sent his way, nearly crushing him if Rouge didn't gave him a helping hand.

"Grrr…We can't even get close!" Yelled Claw the Bear as he used his mighty axe to smash big chunk of gold throne that was sent his way. This action however gave Sonic good idea.

"Okay everyone….it's risky but let's attack him all at once, from ALL sides!" Ordered the blue hedgehog annoyed slightly at his decision. He didn't want to put his friends lives in danger but if this continued like this someone would get hurt one way or another without them actually managing to touch this guy. The idea was simple…his friends would charge and Sonic will eliminate any flying debris. As if on cue, everyone rushed from their cover, nearing the surprised Kirlan, but just as they were about to swing their weapons at him, he flashed out of the way and reappeared behind their unprotected backs. With displeased look, he decided that this fight was taking too long, so he would attack them focusing on one at a time…and his first target would be…this lilac furred female. Gathering the energy around himself, he decided that this time he would just send one fast attack instead of ten weaker. That should to the thing.

"Disappear" He said under his nose, as the big projectile was shoot towards the fire princess who didn't had even time to dodge the attack. As her eyes grew wide, so did Shadows, who realized he was too far to reach her this time. Time seemed to slow for the black hedgehog, as memories of his past began playing inside his head, but this time the woman he tried to save wasn't Maria…it was Blaze.

_Nooo!_ – He screamed in his mind as energy pulsated under the palms of his hands. Feeling the familiar power, he acted on impulse and released it towards the oncoming attack, which couldn't be stopped by anything else.

"Chaaaooosss…SPEAR!" He yelled, as yellow energy shoot towards the beam of energy, the familiar energy of chaos, reflecting it towards nearby pillar and overthrowing it on the ground, separating the heroes from their adversary, who now wore shocked expression on his face…as did everyone else present.

"S-Shadow? H-how…"Stuttered Blaze, not able to comprehend what exactly happened. Not one of them understood what was going on. Weren't their powers lost for them? Sealed by Eggman? Looking puzzled at the palm of his hand even Shadow wasn't able to come with any sound explanation…he just did, what he always does, when using this attack.

"I thought as much…" The quiet voice of Tails resounded behind them, as all the pair of eyes turned towards the young fox eyeing him with curiosity, expecting answers. Feeling the need to elaborate the young fox decided to do it quickly, as the next attack of high lord resounded around the room, coming…he was trying to get to them, by destroying the fallen pillar so they didn't had much time.

"If you have anything to say smart boy, better do it now. This chunk of precious gold won't hold that old cat for long." Said the Ivory bat, motioning with her hand for him to be quicker…she too was curious as to what went on. How could Shadow shoot chaos spear? It should have been impossible.

"When we were sent Eggman said he sealed out powers…but…didn't any of you noticed anything strange? I noticed it first when Shadow pulled this rabbit guy through the window as if it was nothing… and we all know Shadow's strength comes from chaos energy flowing through his veins. It would be impossible without it." Started quickly the young fox, while everyone waited and listened, ears perked up but as always Sonic cut in.

"So what? You want to say the effect wasn't permanent and that we got some of our powers back?" Inquired the blue hedgehog, but his young companion quickly shook his head in dismissal and decided to correct impatient his friend.

"No Sonic. I thought about it at first, but that was not the case. It may sound strange to you guys but the theory I came up with is, that Eggman never actually sealed our powers…he just used some kind of hypnosis to make us believe he did it. Remember…none of us never TRIED to use them and yet we knew that we couldn't. How did all of us knew it without proof?" Finished the young fox, exhaling the air. He would like to elaborate further but it seemed they didn't had enough time for it, not now anyway.

"So what now?" Asked Amy, curiously but the answer was already obvious to all of them, save for three banished who just looked at themselves unable to comprehend any of this rambling about sealing powers or Egg-something being responsible for it.

"Now Amy, we get even." Replied Sonic, which made everyone either smile or chuckle. It was payback time. Just as the gold pillar that separated them from their adversary crumbled, everyone of them rushed forward, each free of Eggman's hold, all of their powers at their disposal. Whatever the high lord was expecting to happen it certainly wasn't the punch of red echidna that sent him flying up, followed by hit from big hammer… it certainly wasn't his clothes to start burning or being spin-dashed constantly by black and blue blur. As his magic power dwindled, the barrier he kept around himself finally gave in and he went flying back, hitting the remains of one of the columns. Falling to his knees he looked up at the figures of seven strangers, pure disbelief painted on his face…they weren't this strong some minutes ago…WHAT HAPPENED?!

"Uh…should we stop them?" Asked Claw his monkey companion, who just stood dumbfounded, but upon the question hitting his ears he simply shook his head. Never in his life had any of them saw something so powerful that would be able to literally sent the high lord flying.

"Looks like this fight is over." Said Sonic, turning around to the three banished showing them thumbs up while grinning. The three of them came close, their own smiles present…They couldn't believe what actually happened. They won and it all seemed like an end of long dream… As the heroes were ready for one big cheer, suddenly a clank was heard and a lone pair of footsteps echoed around the room, the sound coming from the staircase on the left to the throne.

"So…the male didn't stop you after all. Pathetic." Came to them female voice as the silhouette that appeared on stairs came to light to reveal a single girl, the gold colored monkey, adorned in expensive clothing and jewelry. Heavy frown on her face, she looked around the room with displeased expression, as her eyes scanned the figures of heroes who dared to barge in here.

"S-sister?", "Princess Amber?" resounded voices of both Gold the Monkey and Claw the Bear, who now stood dumbfounded, looking as if they saw ghost. Crossing over the fallen body of lord Kirlan, Amber the Monkey took his staff in her hands, making blue energy swirl around it's tip, now looking with clear blue eyes, filled with disgust at everyone present in the throne room.

"So…my dear brother and the general of my father finally decided to make their move. Bored of the life in hiding I assume?" Said the princess as her soft voice filled the silent room, while heavy frown remained on her muzzle.

"Whoa…time out! What's going on? Who is this?" Asked Sonic, who had trouble to comprehend what was actually going on…and looking at the faces of his friend, he knew others felt the same way. Eyes glued to the two banished, he looked at them, while taping his foot impatiently, expecting answers. The first to take voice was Claw the Bear but was quickly silenced by raised hand of Gold the Monkey.

"That is, what I also would like to know Mr. Sonic. Allow me to reintroduce myself…My name is Gold the Monkey...the son of now deceased king, the one that was saved from poison by my father's oldest friend and general, Claw the Bear." Began the prince as he looked on the faces of his friends, who rewarded him with curious and dumbfounded stares, eyes wide from this revelation. However the male monkey didn't wore pleased expression. With anger filled eyes, he turned sharply to his big companion.

"You told me that my sister died by the hands of high lord Kirlan. Why did you lied?" He asked, voice full of barely contained fury, as this one simple fact that shaped his entire life crumbled before him with the sudden appearance of his older sister. The big bear however looked as much surprised as everyone else.

"I didn't know my prince… I was told she died…" He started to explain himself but then a mocking laughter interrupted him as Amber the Monkey tried her best to calm herself down.

"Poor fools. Before I will get rid of you, allow me to enlighten you all with my tale…" Began the princess as a gleeful smile showed on her features, but the eyes remained cold as ice.

"As I believe, you were told how the lone priest came to my father, the king. You probably heard how the priest got rid of royal family and gave the inhabitants of this kingdom new laws to obey…but what you don't know is, that he was working for me. I was the one who poisoned my parents, I was the one who tried to poison you my dear brother, I was the one who created those laws and I am the one who everyone obeys while remaining in the shadows as the fool priest does my bidding." Finished the princess as she kicked the unconscious high lord in the face, while getting some sort of pleasure from doing it. Looking at her adversaries, the ones who made her reveal herself she wondered slowly how to kill all of them….or who would be first.

"W-why would you do something like this? I heard you lived good and peaceful life in the kingdom!" Yelled Amy, as the memories of sad tale flew through her head. She couldn't believe how someone could do all of this and be this cruel.

"Peaceful life? Don't make me laugh! My parents always argued and the male that was my father always used his authority to dominate over weaker ones, especially my weak mother! My brother here might not remember it since he was too young but I saw it all… This world never had any justice for women, it needed new laws, but people aren't so easy to change. The only way to made them to obey was to use authority higher than my fathers and so the laws from gods were given!" Yelled Amber the Monkey as fury filled her eyes, memories of her past filling her.

"Then what about the purpose of cutting vocal cords if someone is too loud? What about your people who suffer because of it? What about the banished who were not a threat to you but you still made them guilty of everything your robots did?" Asked Blaze, who was unable to control herself any more. By her beliefs a royalty shouldn't act like this. She lost her own parents when she was young…there were countless days she wished to meet them and this person here just killed her own father and mother. Trembling with anger she felt like she would explode any moment.

"What about all of this? I'm a princess, I don't need to care about such trivial stuff like my people. They only need me to rule over them in general and be thankful that I let them live." Replied the female monkey as she smiled a wide and cruel smile and by this time Blaze already got the image who she really was…just a spoiled brat who knew nothing of hardships of ruling, she simply played with everyone like with toys! With a roar she charged at the annoyance only to discover herself being easily lifted up and thrown back. Luckily Rouge cough her up in air.

"You okay?" Inquired the ivory beauty seeing as anger seeped from the feline eyes.

"Yes, but she won't be." Blaze replied shortly and charged again, followed by Amy, Rouge and Gala who also wanted to show this spoiled princess how it is to feel pain. Looking at them, the male part of the team wanted to intervene before anything happened, but seeing as not all of them were cooping okay with the situation, Sonic and Shadow both decided to do something about it.

"H-how…how could you do all of this?" Stuttered Gold the Monkey falling to his knees, not being able to comprehend all the truth that was revealed to him. All his life he believed something different and now everything has been turned upside down. He no longer knew what he was supposed to do or who was his enemy, but then, he felt white gloved hand land on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw face of no one other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

"I know it's hard on you. But there are people counting on their leader." Started the young hedgehog, but was meet with the prince shaking his head miserably, obviously not wanting to listen.

"I don't know what to do…" He started to say, but quickly he found himself being hold by threatening Shadow the Hedgehog, whose eyes showed anger but also compassion behind them. The black hedgehog knew how hard it was to live through something like this, but this was not a time for the prince to act like crying little girl.

"Get yourself together you idiot. All we need to do is to knock her out and then you can cry all you want for all I care, just stop hindering everyone else!" Snarled the black blur as he pulled the male monkey out of his daze. Throwing him to the ground he didn't wait for reply and went to make sure nothing bad was happening to Blaze.

"Y-you are right! Claw go around and try to restrain her from the back while I and other guys will help the girls out!" He issued his orders as the all began to charge at the princess who was now fighting with Blaze, shooting projectiles at her and slowly gaining the upper hand only to lose it when avoiding Amy's piko piko hammer. As they all neared her, suddenly her stare grew heavy as energy began circling around her. Releasing it, she threw everyone aside as this game began to tire her.

"Is it me or does she seem stronger that this Kirlan guy?" Asked Knuckles while massaging his shoulder he landed on but didn't receive any reply as everyone noticed it on their own.

"We need to somehow restrain her without actually hurting..." Began the prince but cut short as he saw bigger ball of energy forming above his sisters head. Eyes wide, he knew that if she attacked them with it, no one would be safe, especially if she detonated the whole tower that already took too much damage.

"It's time to end this. Farewell brother…nhg.." She yelped when smaller energy beam collided with the magic staff, throwing it from her hands, while at the same tame it made her attack vanish. Looking to her left side, the evil princess noticed the old cat, who now stood with his hands outstretched while panting heavily.

"You traitor! What are you doing?!" Yelled Amber the Monkey in the face of no one other than High lord Kirlan, whose emotionless stare looked unfazed at his mistress.

"Obeying the rightful heir as I promised your father." Stated simply the old priest as he slid to the floor tiredly, too exhausted to keep on his feet. Snarling the princess however wasn't going to let this little interference change her plan to get rid of everyone, but as she turned her head back to the heroes a white gloved fist collided with her jaw, sending her flying to the floor, as lone teeth flew out of her mouth as she lost consciousness. Turns out, nobody told her not to take her eyes from enemies.

"Now I feel better." Said Blaze, as everyone came closer from behind her. She was about to continue her attack, but then she could feel Shadow hand land on her shoulder, instantly calming her down. It was over…they won. Letting herself exhale the air she had been keeping she moved slightly back to lean on Shadows chest, as tiredness took over her. She wasn't bothered by anyone looking at them, since everyone were too busy to actually comment about this…and even Shadow didn't seem to mind her action, probably thinking she wanted only to rest a little.

* * *

As ten figures were slowly making their way through the ominous swamp, their steps heavy from recent events, happy chatter was going on between them. Those ten figures were no one other than Sonic and his friends, accompanied by Gold the Monkey, Gala the Serpent and Kirlan the Cat, earlier known as High lord, now only a humble priest.

"You really don't want to stay to the party?" Asked Gold the Monkey as he looked at seven heroes that helped him regain his peaceful world, but was only met with Sonic shaking his head left and right. It felt strange to the young prince to walk this land while not feeling threatened by robots, as all of them were deactivated after victory.

"I wish we could dude, but we have one more world to save and one more big butt to kick…two of them actually." Replied the blue blur with small laugh, while getting silent approval from others. Even if he was laughing, his thoughts were heavy, as they didn't knew how much time passed in their dimension. The thoughts of what they may see upon returning back were dark and they all seemed on edge, especially Blaze.

"Then we wish you good luck…we will really miss you." Said Gala the Serpent, getting a hold of her husband arm as she looked sadly at everyone. They didn't had much chance to interact with each other, but they already became fast friends, especially Amy and Rouge, who saved her life during the initial assault on the drawbridge.

"Speaking of missing…wouldn't the princess try to escape while you are seeing us of?" Asked Knuckles, but was met with the old magician showing his disapproval.

"I put extra measures on the cell she is locked in and general Claw is guarding her personally today." Assured Kirlan, but the red guardian didn't look exactly pleased with his answer…he still didn't fully trust this guy, who was their enemy just recently and didn't bother to hid his distrust.

"That's what I'm worried about. Until yesterday, you were working for her." Snarled the echidna, eyes slightly angry but was met with the old cat shaking his head sadly.

"I'm loyal to the royal blood-line. Had I know that prince Gold was alive, then I would follow him. For that lack of knowledge I apologize." Replied Kirlan, while still feeling uncomfortable around those strangers…after all he was royal magician and advisor of late king, and never in his long life had he seen someone as powerful as those seven. Truth be told, he was glad they will leave his world with his help.

"Please…you were only loyal to my father. No one blames you." Assured him Gold, which earned him a small smile from the former high lord, now demoted to a simple priest. As they neared a big hole in the ground they all looked down to see the old well inside…nothing special at first but some of them already know what was hidden inside.

"So? How exactly is this place going to help us return?" Asked Amy, with dread looking at the pool of water, while remembering hers and Rouges earlier visit. She hoped nothing similar will happen this time, since she was sure to smash the water spirit if it angered her again.

"This place holds special meaning, for it is here that time and space intersects. I'm sure that kind spirit will be able to return you to your world." Said the old cat, which made both the pink hedgehog and ivory bat look uncertain, especially about the _"kind spirit"_ part. Upon descending down, they all looked around as the lone priest neared the well. With the move of his magic staff, the water began boiling and soon, well known figure of water spirit came to life.

"Who dares to…Oh! Kirlan, it was so long since we last met!" Said happily the water apparition as it came closer looking obviously pleased at the high lord, which made both Amy and Rouge look taken aback by the spirit kindness.

"I apologize my dear. I assume you know what we are here for?" Asked the priest, turning around to look at the seven strangers, missing the angry look the oracle gave both Amy, Rouge and Blaze.

"Of course! Leave it to me!" Said happily the water spirit as the whirlpool showed in the well, powerful energy pulsating from within it. Looking pleased at the swirling water, the priest made room for others to come closer.

"This is the portal that will take you, to your home. Say your farewells but don't take too long." Replied the old cat, bowing down while excusing himself and going to lean on the nearby wall, while water spirit encircled him and soon both of them were in pleasant conversation.

"So…I guess that's it…" Began Gold the Monkey, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He didn't spent much time with those strangers, but it was enough for him to consider them his friends…and now they will have to go back and probably never return.

"Yeah…" Said Sonic as he looked at the guy, who spent all his time in hiding, helping his people however he could and now was going to lead his people…Sonic was proud of him.

"You know…there is no telling we won't be meeting each other someday" Reassured him the blue blur, as he didn't want the young prince to cry here. He didn't like teary farewells and preferred them to end with smiles instead of tears. Seeing as the monkey tears dried up, before they could fall down he felt relieved.

"I suppose you are right…friends…?" Asked the prince as he extended his hand, which Sonic shook, while giving his trademark grin. No more words were needed as feelings of new friendship spoke for themselves. As everyone of them bid their farewell, the hero of mobius turned towards the portal.

"Guess that's it." He said as he jumped first, followed by Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Rouge who upon entering looked with smile at her G.U.N. Partner. Standing before the portal, Blaze the Cat looked uncertain as never in her life. Soon she will discover whether her world is alive or not. Feeling as another hand grabbed hers, she looked to the left to discover Shadow the Hedgehog looking at her with strong ruby eyes.

"You don't plan on running out now, do you?" He inquired, which earned him a soft smile from the fire princess. As she held tighter his hand, she started to move forward, being closely followed by the black blur, her last words barely heard.

"Not now, not ever…"

* * *

"So…where did you send them?" He asked but was only meet with Eggman shake up his shoulders.

"Who cares? We got rid of them and that's what counts." He replied with big, creepy smile.

"We should start planning our conquest…we still need to rebuild our invention." And with those last words they exited the room, unaware that something bad was going to happen soon, behind their back, where broken cannon parts were scattered…

As soon as two Eggmans exited the room, a loud roar was hear which made them quickly run back inside, only to discover their enemies, safe and sound with sand on them. While grinding their teeth, both moustaches turned to face each other as angry shouts were traded between two mad geniuses.

"You said it worked! Look now what you did!" Yelled Eggman Nega at his counterpart but the Mobius Prime Eggman wasn't going to let himself accept all the blame…or any blame at all.

"I did? It was your programming that was messed up!" Shot back Eggman, but soon they were interrupted by a cheerful voice of no one other than Sonic the Hedgehog. The blue blur was happy, because it seemed that time flow was in their favor and it also made everyone else sigh in relief upon entering their dimension…they obviously weren't late.

"Ready to give up now?" Asked the hero of Mobius as both scientist started to back away to another room, where the main core of emerald siphon was. They wouldn't want to lose any precious gems even if Sonic was back since it was a pain to look for them.

"Give up? Neve..." Said Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but was cut short when roaring flame went past his head burning the rip of his moustache.

"Give. Me. Back. My. Emeralds." Said Blaze the Cat, fiery as ever, as her temper rose up. This time she wasn't going to let anything prolong. She would get her world's treasure back even if she would have to burn through all that fat before her. Seeing her scary gaze upon himself, Eggman looked panicked and decided that it's better to let her have them…for now at least. Pushing the button on the nearby wall, he opened a hidden path and quickly escaped for his life while leaving his annoying sol dimension counterpart to deal with those mobians.

"Curse you." Snarled Eggman Nega as he exited to the back room, the light of power core illuminating his person as long shadow was cast on nearby wall. When the seven heroes slowly came closer, he knew from the start that he was outnumbered but he would have his last laugh…actually, he thought of a very good idea right about now. Standing straight, he slowly clapped his hands as if congratulating the efforts of his adversaries, who entered the room after him every one of them ready to attack any minute.

"Good work. You all did well." He began cheerfully, as he slowly started to move towards the nearby console, eyes of seven mobians following his every step.

"You won't run away this time." Said the fire princess, as she prepared to attack any minute. She knew him better than anyone else did, and if he was acting like this, he was planning something…but what? She couldn't guess. He was clearly outnumbered after all.

"That may be so your highness. But I wonder…which is more important, catching me or saving your world?" Said the mad scientist as he toyed with his grey moustache. Catching Blaze and everyone else off guard, he got them where he wanted, as they looked around the room trying to figure out his rambling. Now all he had to do, was to quickly press some buttons and escape.

"What do you mean?" Asked Sonic impatiently before anyone else. He knew something fishy was going on, but just couldn't guess what, no matter how hard he tried. No matter the Eggman, his experience told him that something big will happen soon…something no one of them would like.

"My dear blue hedgehog…why don't I show you?" Said Eggman Nega, as he started pressing some buttons…hardly an effort since it took him about one second to do so, before anyone could react. What he wanted to do was easy…and he did it very fast as alarms roared to life all around the base. The light from reactor fading like extinguished candle as Blaze fell to her knees in a fit of pain that shoot through her whole body. As she suddenly kneeled, everyone else took their eyes off the mad genius for split second, worry on their faces, especially on Shadow's...

"W-what did you do?" Asked Blaze while obviously in pain, flames again slowly forming on her hands, eyeing the mad scientist who looked innocently at her…his voice mocking.

"Oh? Just overloaded the reactor…sadly, I think that this explosion blew the two sol emeralds inside to pieces. Too much chaos emeralds I guess. Bet you didn't knew we used four of them did you?" Replied the mad genius, while grinning from ear to ear, seeing as seven pairs of different colored eyes grew wide from horror.

"Now if you don't mind. I'll excuse myself. Enjoy the last minutes of your world princess." He added and quickly tapped another button, as a trapdoor opened under him…his escape route where he wanted it to be.

"Get back here!" Yelled Sonic and Knuckles in unison but were too late as the doors shut tightly behind the mad man and only the fading laughter could be still heard for some more seconds.

"Blaze…" Began Shadow but the princess didn't look at him, eyes glued to the reactor chamber, where broken parts of grey stones laid lifeless. Lips quivered, she began to tremble slowly as realization dawned on her. She failed…without the emeralds there was no way her world will ever be saved. As Amy and Rouge prepared to move to comfort the fire feline, faces filled with worry, they were surprised that someone else reacted faster than either of them. With tears slowly forming, Blaze could feel Shadow slowly hugging her, as she responded naturally to it and hid her face in his chest unable to control herself any longer. The black hedgehog didn't care if anyone saw them right now, as the very thing he was afraid about started to happen right here and now… he promised her that he would save her world…

"Tails! Can't you do something?" Quickly asked Sonic while looking at his broken friend, ears filled with her muffled sobs, his usual cheerful grin gone from his face as cold seriousness replaced it. It was a rare sight but one to be feared as the blue blur got like this only when needed. Managing to look away, he saw his twin tailed fox already typing quickly on the console, not bothering to reply to his blue hero as similar expression was adorning his face…he needed to concentrate, and when he got like this, the results usually showed quickly. It didn't take him long…but what he was about to say to them was not what he wanted.

"There is no way to save Blaze's world….With the sol emeralds gone there is nothing we can do." He started grimly, looking depressed down at his hands. For all his genius even he was not able to come up with anything on the spot. As his young voice resounded with echo around the room, all that could be heard were silent sobs from the broken fire princess who didn't care if someone saw her tears. Looking up, Shadow motioned for Amy to come closer and replace him, which the pink hedgehog did, puzzled that the ultimate life form wanted to do so…did he had a plan? Coming closer to the young genius, the ultimate life form looked at the keyboard, determination in his ruby eyes.

"There must be something…anything!" He growled as he began angrily typing on the keyboard, not willing to give up. Looking at his black counterpart, the blue blur slowly put his hands on Shadow's shoulder trying to calm him down accompanied by Rouge, who stood by in case if they ended up fighting each other, sadness obvious in her features. She didn't like Blaze…but this was just too cruel.

"I know how you feel…but there is nothing we can do…" Sonic began in quiet voice, not wanting for Blaze to hear anything since she was already barely holding up, but the ultimate life form threw aside his counterpart sympathy and looked at him sharply, red eyes burning, refusing to ever give up.

"I will find a way." Shadow said with determined voice as he set his mind on his task. Everyone knew that when he did so, nothing would made him change his decision. It angered him that the blue annoyance before him would ever dare to suggest they should give up. Looking as if he would kill him any minute, the blue hedgehog slowly backed off.

" Hey, calm down Shadow. I know you want to do something, but it's not like you can somehow use chaos control to fix everything." Reasoned Sonic, trying very hard to convince his friend that he should stop but this random argument made Tails ears perk up who looked at both of them with sparkling sky colored eyes.

"That's it!" He almost yelled which made everyone look at him, even Blaze. Did he thought of something? Just as he was about to continue his voice however was lost in his throat. Getting impatient Shadow went up to him and shook him by his shoulders.

"If you know something, then say it!" He ordered sharply, anger and impatience seeping from his voice but then he felt Rouge's grip on his wrist trying to calm him down…which he did.

"Let him talk Shadow" She said seriously, not wanting the black hedgehog to hurt the twin tailed fox in any way. Gulping down, Tails looked seriously at everyone, especially at Blaze.

"I-It's not possible to save the whole world…but I believe, that using broken sol emeralds along with chaos emeralds it's possible to synchronize the dimensions…to bring everyone to this world. However even if we did it, there is no telling what would happen to the one who tries to do that…that quantity of mixed power will likely…k-kill the user." Replied the young genius, unsure if his proposal was any good. It was basically asking someone to sacrifice their own life…but it was the only way he could think of. Just as he was tormenting himself about this, Blaze the Cat stood strongly up, determination evident in her eyes, the streams from tears still present on her cheeks.

"I will do it." She said, prepared for anything, even to give her own life if needed. It was her duty and her people needed her even if it was the last time. However as she neared the reactor Shadow stood in her way, red eyes glancing at her with hidden worry.

"Move Shadow. It needs to be done." Whispered Blaze as she moved closer, trying very hard to not look into his pained eyes, but was met with heavy punch to the gut. As the image began to fade from her, she slowly drifted into sleep, not being able to do understand what had actually happened. Shocked, everyone looked at the ebony hedgehog who gently laid Blaze on the metal floor, while his eyes didn't show any emotion.

"Shadow?! What…" Began Sonic, but was stopped by his black counterpart who turned slowly to face the reactor where two sol emeralds laid, along with four chaos ones. As realization dawned on everyone they went closer to him. Obviously the first to speak was Sonic as he always did.

"I understand what you want to do, but do you think Blaze would want you to sacrifice yourself for her world?" Asked Sonic annoyed at the very thought of sacrificing even one of his friends. In his opinion there should always be another way, but he was not naïve enough to not believe that sometimes sacrifices were the only option…he did sacrifice himself countless times anyway.

"After I transport everyone here, she will be needed for her people who will find themselves in this world, so she can't sacrifice herself…besides I'm the ultimate life form…I have bigger chances of surviving this than her." Made his point Shadow, as he prepared to do what needed to be done…he didn't actually believe the last part about surviving, no one in this room did, but they couldn't argue with him as time was running out and Blaze was already unconscious. Not hearing any more words against his decision, he began to concentrate as raw power surged through his body. He felt the powers of both chaos and sol emeralds mixing inside his very being as the blood in his veins turned to fire. It hurt, but he wouldn't stop…he couldn't stop at all cost…for her…he will give everything…

* * *

**TBC... Epilogue on its way!**


	13. Epilogue

**It is my pleasure to present you with my cute and small epilogue to my first story! Wow...70K words in one month, now I feel better :D Enjoy!**

* * *

Silent hum of many machines filled the small room that was shrouded in constant twilight, the only source of light being the big container with green liquid inside and many tubes attached to it, their full purpose unknown by average Mobian. Before the hard wall made of glass, a single silhouette stood tall, observing with unreadable emotions the contents floating inside. Hand slowly lifted, she touched the cold surface, frustration slowly building up upon contact with it, yearning for the touch of silky soft black fur that was so close to her, yet so far that it was unreachable. Blaze the Cat looked with her amber eyes at the person she loved, now trapped in the medical container while recovering steady. No longer was she uncertain about her feelings towards him, as her eyes, devoid of any tears but her soul in obvious pain, cried upon looking at Shadow. It was a miracle, that he was still alive but was it really? Recalling the events of some days ago, she bitterly bit her lower lip.

- New Mobotropolis – One week earlier -

_ "What did you say?!" Nearly yelled the fire princes tightening her grip on the bed sheets she woke up in, just some moments ago. As information from both Sonic and Tails flooded to her about what happened, her face became more and more unreadable, tension raising with each word._

_"Where is he?" She asked finally, voice dripping with concern, as she started to stand up from the bed. She needed to see, otherwise she would never believe it…it couldn't be true. Catching the glimpse of silent exchange between the two heroes, they motioned for her to follow them, serious expressions present on both faces and she did it, heart beating faster than it should, fear chilling her to the bone. When they entered the lab and when she first saw the glass container she made her way up to it, tears nearly forming on the corner of her eyes, but her stubbornness stopping them from falling down her cheeks. It shouldn't be like this…why did it happen?_

_"He is alive Blaze." She heard Sonic say softly behind her but the image of the man she loved that was now before her felt overwhelming. How could she believe the blue hedgehog when her eyes looked at the black hedgehog slowly floating in the liquid whose purpose was unknown to her. His wounds on whole body, too fatal for anyone to survive sent chills down her spine as it all looked as if he was scorched from the inside, a lot of his fur gone and black skin clearly visible…how was it possible for someone to be alive like this? Were her friends lying to her?_

_"How…" She began, not being able to take her eyes away, as her heart slowly broke piece by piece, with each memory filling her head. She blamed herself for this, if only she was stronger. This wasn't how she wanted it to happen… she was angry at him for sacrificing himself for her world like he did, but at the same time she felt weak, almost wanting to yell that the price was too high._

_"We don't know…but he is slowly recovering, as if not willing to give up." Came the whispering voice from twin tailed fox, who couldn't believe how resistant the ultimate life form was. No one should be able to live through what he did, but here, he had proof, floating silently and getting better with every passing second._

_"How long will it take for him to recover?" Questioned Blaze slowly, afraid to hear the answer but somehow hopeful that it would make her fears smaller._

_"We don't know…it all depends on him now." Replied the young genius, seeing Sonic waving his hand from the entrance, giving Tails the clear sign that both of them should leave the fire princess alone for some time._

_"Uh…we will be outside. If you need anything don't be afraid to ask." He added and excused himself. When both of them left, doors shutting behind them, Blaze finally let her tears fell down, as she sank to the ground, knees hugged to her chest. She didn't know why she cried…was it from happiness that he was alive? Was it because of how painfully his wounds looked? Or was it because she simply wanted to tell him how she felt and had to postpone it again…? Maybe all those reasons, maybe another one…for now, the only sound she could make, were not words as her silent sobs filled the empty room…_

- Present time -

Looking at his floating form, she observed it closely in the dim light. Most of his wounds were already healed and yet again she was amazed about him. This abnormal recovering ability let him survive and now he was slowly coming back. If this continued she would be able to see him sooner than she expected. Smiling gently, she decided to began doing what she did everyday when coming to visit him.

"Hey Shadow…I see you are doing great. If you keep up like this soon we will met. "She began, gently caressing the cold surface of the hard glass, voice soft as if not wanting to wake him up from peaceful sleep.

"Everything goes well. My people and I are living in New Mobotropolis for the time being. Princess Sally was very helpful and the council let's me handle every matter concerning my people. It's peaceful inside those walls… we had some trouble at first, but it's over now. I even got my own house for the time being but…It somehow feels empty. Guess I got too used to live with someone." She said, as her warm smile grew bigger with every word. It felt comforting to be able to talk like this, even if he probably didn't heard her. Looking at the watch on the nearby wall, she sighed to herself as her time was running too fast. There were still decisions to be made, since she wasn't sure if her people should stay in this city or build their own…both options had their good and bad sides.

"I need to get going, but I will be back tomorrow…I lo…" She began but didn't finish, instead she smiled in his direction as she exited the room. Some words she will leave, until he wakes up and then she will tell them to him personally…however embarrassing it will be. Upon exiting the laboratory she noticed Amy Rose walking in her direction.

"Oh Blaze! I was searching for you. You still up for cooking lessons today?" Inquired the pink heroine, while trying her best to hide concern for her lilac friend. She knew where the fire feline was…she visited him each day after all.

"Sure. Same hour as always?" Asked Blaze, her eyes sparkling with interest. Upon returning she took it upon herself to learn more…girly stuff. After all she promised herself that when Shadow wakes up, she will cook him a real meal, one that he would enjoy this time. A small and silly idea in her opinion but she decided sometimes being silly wasn't so bad if it was about doing something for one you love.

"Yep!" Replied Amy. She looked like she wanted to ask about something more, but Blaze waved her hand off and speed to the council building, since she already was getting late. Looking after her the ears of pink hedgehog caught a long sigh. Whirling around she noticed that Rouge the Bat was standing near her.

"How is she?" Inquired the ivory beauty, sadness painted on her face…an expression to common to the treasure huntress,

"Not good. Not unless Shadow wakes up that is." Gave her answer Amy, while looking at the blue sky. Each day she tried to keep the fire princess company when teaching her how to cook and other tricks but she could tell she still felt depressed inside and for that, there was only one remedy.

"He IS the ultimate life form you know? I'm sure he won't let her wait for long." Said Rouge as she prepared to go back. There were new orders from HQ and now she had to work twice as much since Shadow was recovering.

"Speaking of Shadow…Why didn't you tell G.U.N. that he is wounded and recovering? I'm sure they could provide better facility." Inquired Amy, who was intrigued about the odd behavior of the white bat. It actually bothered her for some time but she didn't had a chance to get her any answers.

"I'm not sure it they could provide better, besides…Shadow already went through much in his life and I'm sure he would want Blaze to be close." Replied the G.U.N. agent as she prepared to lift of, catching the wind in her wings.

"So you DO care about others." Smiled widely the pink hedgehog while eyeing the white bat suspiciously. She had to admit, she always thought about her being selfish and only caring about precious jewels.

"Who knows" Winked Rouge, as she flew out of New Mobotropolis, leaving Amy to her own thoughts…somehow the pink hedgehog got the feeling that Shadow and Blaze will continue their adventure. It was a feeling she got, and she knew better to trust her feelings…

THE END...Or is it?

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**Not the happiest but full of hope, open ending. I will definietly post sequel to this story (and It will have the ultimate mushy and over cute ending) but first I have to gather the ideas into one readable story xD It was a pleasure to write this, see you soon in the sequel...it is going to be better since I will take more time with it and not rush :)**


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